Unconventional Unions
by Truthfulpen
Summary: An unconventional meeting leaves an unforgettable impression on two Shinigami. She's insufferably outspoken, and he's detestably arrogant. They can't stand each other but find themselves oddly attracted.
1. Chapter 1: College Blues

**This is my first and possibly worst attempt at writing a FF. The idea of this completely CRACK pairing came to me a while ago, and I was hoping that some magnificent mind out there had already conjured up a good plot. To my disappointment, I discovered that not only are there very few ByaKarin FF's out there, but almost all of them are ONE SHOTS. So I gathered up a whole lot of courage, and even more creativity to write this story. The rating is T for now, but as the chapters progress the rating may be subject to changes. I've set the time frame of this FF to be Post "Lost Substitute Shinigami" Arc, but Pre- "Thousand year Blood war" arc. I've expanded the time skip between the two arcs, so Karin is older in this ff.**

**Reviews would be appreciated. Cheers!**

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'_I should have just stayed in bed this morning'_ Was the first thing that Karin thought as she entered the crowded subway. Karin yawned as she sat in her seat in the subway and stretched. Her body was still a bit sore from her weekend of training with Urahara. Karin was so drained that she didn't even feel like heading to the University this morning, but Karin knew that she couldn't start getting into the habit of skipping lectures. '_If this is just the second half of my freshman year, then I'm screwed' _thought Karin glumly. Karen's main problem wasn't the workload that she had been given. Karin was incredibly intelligent – when she actually cared enough to display her intelligence – and Karin could easily earn top marks in her class as long as she was putting in at least _some_ effort. Besides, at the unbelievably slow pace that her lectures were going at, exams wouldn't be anything to raise an eyebrow over. Karin's problem however, was trying to balance college, soccer practice, and the responsibility of being a fledging spiritual medium, all at the same time. Today would probably turn out to be no exception to her routine either. Karin had woken up early to start her day, and headed to the campus soccer fields to attend practice as-per usual. Despite having to wake up at 5:30 AM to get ready, Karin really enjoyed her practices. The workout kept her in great shape, and all the running and kicking she did was amazing stress relief. Whether she was kicking the bell, passing the ball, or acting as a goalie, Karin felt free whenever she was on the field. After soccer practice Karin had headed back home on the subway to get ready for her lecture at 9. The day was turning out to be fairly uneventful, and Karin was actually beginning to enjoy her lecture, until she spotted a rather large, lizard-like hollow lurking about the court garden just outside of the building she was in during her lecture. Karin inwardly groaned, knowing that she'd be left to deal with the problem, seeing that she was the only Shinigami nearest to the hollow. _Damn it! Damn these hollow, Damn the lazy Shinigami in this city, and Damn my ability to see these stupid fuckers!_

Karin rose out of her seat and excused herself from the lecture, making sure to ask her friend Ami to scan a copy of her notes for her. As Karin left the lecture hall she broke out into a jog, and as she turned the corner, she pulled out her gigonkan, swiftly ejecting herself out of her body. As soon as she did that, she regretted it entirely. She barely had any experience with fighting hollows with her zanpakutou; every other time she fought hollows she always fought in her human form (with the aid of some of Urahara's supplies, of course) but since Urahara had taught her how to achieve her Shinigami form, she had decided that she would start trying to use her Shinigami powers, rather than depending on her physical strength and Uraharas various supplies to fight hollows. But how was she supposed to fight a hollow with her Shinigami powers when she didn't even know how to use her zanpakutou! Karin's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she just scarcely missed the impact of the hollows slashing tail. Karin leaped backwards into a nearby tree, and silently cursed herself for getting distracted. The Hollow thrashed its tail about and snarled. The hollow then refocused itself, and sensed for Karin's reiatsu. Once it found what it was looking for, it roared loudly and quickly advanced in Karin's direction.

Karin realized that she'd have to totally abandon the notion of retrieving her body, because doing so would only cause an excessive amount of damage to the surrounding buildings and endanger the people within them. Bracing herself, Karin wielded her zanpakutou, and charged after the hollow with as much force as she could muster up. She leapt overhead the hollow and dived down in an angled position, with her zanpakutou held in front of her. Once Karin landed, she gracefully spun around to survey the result of her efforts. She had managed to strike the hollows arm off from the shoulder down, but she didn't land an especially deadly blow. Karin was getting ready to attack again, when she felt a sharp stinging sensation in her left thigh. When Karin looked down, she saw blood trickling down her leg and instinctively clutched onto it to try and diminish the pain and the copious blood flow. Karin must have spaced out for a moment too long, because she was suddenly hit with the full force of the hollows tail, and was sent sailing through several buildings. The hollow wasted no time trying to finish Karin off and slashed its tail at the foundation of the building surrounding the area and raised its tail to give a finishing blow to Karin's battered form. Karin was too injured to get up, and in resignation and defeat, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact. _I should've never gotten out of bed this morning…_

Suddenly, instead of the feeling of crushing concrete and hollow-tail against her body, Karin felt only a slight pick-up in the wind, and heard a shrieking sound that appeared to be coming from the hollow. When Karin opened her eyes, she welcomed sight of the hollow she was fighting slowly disintegrating, and the devastation that the hollow left in its wake. The entire campus looked like a hurricane had run through it. Almost every building had suffered extensive damage; those that weren't completely destroyed, were in pretty bad shape. '_I guess I won't be having any physics lectures for a while...'_ Was Karin's only thought in response to the devastation that was staring her in the face. Just then, a pair of sandal clad feet gracefully landed before Karin amidst the rubble, and a tall figure with long, flowing black hair towered above Karin's form. The figure was male Shinigami, and had a presence that commanded respect, and reeked of authority. Karin mentally noted the Captains cloak that the male Shinigami had on over his shihakusho. The figure casually swept his eyes over Karin's figure, appraising her before he spoke.

"No individuals matching your description have been given authorization to patrol this district. State your division and rank within said division, so that a formal report may be made detailing your insubordination."

Karin simply blinked at the man in confusion. What on earth was he talking about? "I'm sorry, what?"

"It appears as though the other captains have taken a partiality to enlisting illiterate trainees with their ranks. It is of no consequence, I shall reiterate my previous statement in terms more befitting of someone with your mental capacity, or lack thereof."

Did he just insinuate that she was stupid? Oh, this day just kept getting better. Karin – understanding perfectly what the tall as getting at – was furious. Her anger was so fierce that she had forgotten all about the many injuries which she had sustained and rose to her feet, marched up to the tall man and gave him a slap across his face.

"Listen here you arrogant little crap, don't insult me and treat me as though incapable of comprehending anything you say! I heard you loud and clear, what I'm trying to get at **king shit**, is that whatever you're talking about doesn't apply to me. I'm not part of any division, and as a consequence of that I have no rank. Now if you had the decency to approach me like a human—err Shinigami, then you would have been able to acquire this information."

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**A/N: I'm just going to end the chapter here. Depending on the responses I get for this chapter, I may or may not continue this little project of mine. If you are still reading this, let me just take the time out to say THANKYOU for taking a look at my story. I'm still a bit inexperienced with this whole story writing thing as you can tell from my writing, but I appreciate the fact that you`ve put up with me till this point :)**


	2. Chapter 2: For All Intents and Purposes

**Before I start this story, I'd just like to thank my reviewers for their kind words! Nothing is more motivating than a review, so thank you to everyone who took the time out to let me know how I was doing.**

**I would also like to give a special thanks to the user Mysticfolly. This user brought to my attention a lot of things that some of you may or may not have questions about, as well as some general information that I did not include in the first chapter:**

**1. Karin is 18 years of age. I took some liberty and expanded the time skip between the lost substitute shinigami arc, and the Thousand year Blood War Arc. My story is taking place in during the time between the two arcs.**

**2. What Karin studies in University will be revealed in the later chapters (But I will not be putting much emphasis on her studies over the course of this story). I didn't want to bog down everyone's minds with a bunch of information during the introduction, so I decided to include this information later on in the story.**

**3. Karakura Town does not have a university as far as I know. Kubo never really did go into details about locations in the city, so i'm being slightly creative here. From depictions in the Manga and in the Anime, we see that Karakura town is a fairly large city, and since most fairly large cities tend to have atleast one University, I thought "well, Why not Karakura Town".**

**4. Normally you are able to hear your zanpakutou, but according to Kubo, advancements in skill with your zanpakutou take years. Karin's Zanpakutou's name will be revealed but because she only just *recently* acquired her Shinigami powers, it will take some time before she is able to utilize her powers more effectively. Perhaps I didn't write that part clearly enough, but in the beginning of the chapter my intention was to give the reader the impression that Karin had *Just* finished training with Urahara to gain her Shinigami powers, thus the reason why Karin was so exhausted, and didn't feel like going to her lectures.**

**Once again thank you, and your reviews and critiques are greatly appreciated.**

**_I Do Not Own Bleach_**

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Byakuya had not expected anything like this when he decided to take a trip to the human world.

Byakuya, being the perceptive individual that he was, had noticed a rather concerning trend over the past couple of months in regards to the reports that were coming to the divisions from Karakura Town missions. Byakuya had noticed that the number of Garganta being opened (as reported by the 12th division's surveillance unit) exceeded the number of hollow extermination reports in that region by a considerable lack of correlation between the data collected from hand written reports, and the data that the 12th Division had presented at the last number of Captains meetings insinuated that there was an excess of hollows running rampant in Karakura Town, but Byakuya highly doubted that was the case. After a great deal of mental deliberation over whether or not he should bring the issue to the Soutaichou's attention, Byakuya came to the conclusion that such action would only stir unnecessary panic. Byakuya decided that he would simply make a trip to the Human world and bring his findings to Urahara to see if there was a logical explanation.

Byakuya had intended to leave for the human world promptly at dawn, but he was unable to do so because of a clan meeting that he was required to attend. The clan meeting had stretched on far longer than he had hoped it to, and Byakuya was beginning to get irritated with the petty antics of the elders. However, the young Kuchiki clan head made sure that not even an inkling of his irritation was present on his face. After several hours of what felt like endless nagging over irrelevant issues (which in essence, it was), the clan meeting was concluded. Byakuya left the meeting room, entered his private chambers, and used the secret exit in his chamber to go out into the garden. Byakuya broke out into a shunpo and headed towards the Kuchiki family's private senkaimon. He arrived in front of the gates and silently nodded at the guards. The guards nodded in response and opened the gates for the Kuchiki clan-head. Byakuya had stepped out of the senkaimon right in front of Urahara's candy shop. Byakuya stood there and surveyed the area. Not much had changed since the last time he had been near the candy shop. It was more or less the same quaint little hut that it was the first time he saw it.

"Oi Taicho-sama, what'cha lookin' fer 'round here?" Yelled a voice from behind.

Byakuya turned to face the owner of the voice. It was a young man with flaming red hair leaning on a broom, eyeing Byakuya both curiously and suspiciously. Byakuya had seen the young man before on his previous trips to the human world, but he couldn't seem to recall his name. It was 'Kinta' or 'Jinto', or something along those lines. To avoid the contemptible situation of having to ask the boy to tell him his name again, Byakuya opted for going straight to the point and asking the boy to direct him to Urahara.

"I require Urahara-san's presence immediately. Bring me to him." Was all that Byakuya said to the young man.

The boy walked off mumbling something about people of higher ranks being 'stuck up', but Byakuya couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the young man's irrelevant chatter, and followed the boy into the candy shop.

Byakuya sat down at the table across from Urahara and began to air out his concerns. Urahara listened intently, only waving his fan in front of his face on occasion. When Byakuya finished speaking Urahara let out a light chuckle, and began to speak.

"No need to be concerned Kuchiki-Taicho, I'm positive that Karakura town's resident Substitute shinigami are the ones responsible for the unreported Hollow exterminations in the area."

"I'm afraid your explanation still leaves my question unanswered. Even when the Ryoka boy and his companions run about slaying hollows, Rukia has consistently kept record, and formally reported each incidence with applaudable diligence. I made sure to take these reports into account when I was making my observation, and this unusually high number of unreported Hollow exterminations, could not have come about due to my sister's negligence." Said Byakuya in reply, completely missing the use of plural form in Urahara's speech.

Urahara nodded, and then began to think of a reason behind the inconsistencies in the data. "Ah, perhaps Karin hasn't informed Rukia of her recent acquisition of shinigami powers. Knowing the secretive nature of that girl, it is highly possible that neither Rukia nor Kurosaki-san have any idea that Karin was exterminating hollows even before I assisted her by awakening her shinigami powers." Urahara said after a moment.

Who was Karin? The name sounded familiar, but Byakuya could not be sure of whom the girl was. He vaguely remembered Rukia mentioning something about a girl with a similar name, but he had hardly been paying attention when she was speaking. In fact, Byakuya hardly ever paid attention to Rukia whenever she was discussing her time in the Human world, because it always somehow involved Ichigo. Byakuya was about to inquire further about the identity of the girl when he felt the presence of a strange reiatsu, and the presence of a hollow nearby. Byakuya quickly arose from his seated position, excused himself, masked his reiatsu, and shunpoed in the direction of the strange reiatsu and the hollow. Byakuya never noticed the amused grin that Urahara sported as he left. _'this should be interesting'_ thought Urahara.

When Byakuya arrived at the scene, he saw a strange shinigami – a woman, fighting the hollow in a very peculiar manner. It looked as though she was attempting to run somewhere, but was hesitant. Her moves were uncertain, as though she was unaccustomed to fighting with a sword, and rather sloppy. '_A poorly trained academy student, indeed'_ thought Byakuya with disdain. It really was a shame to see the academy producing such poorly skilled shinigami. If performance of this level was to become the standard of shinigami who graduated from the academy then Byakuya feared for the fate of the upcoming generation.

The woman leapt into a tree and was there for a few moments, and then she leapt out of the tree and attacked the hollow by diving at the hollow with her zanpakutou held out in front of her. Byakuya mentally applauded her creativity, but was perplexed as to why such an inexperienced shinigami would be allowed into the human world, especially in a high hollow-activity region like Karakura Town.

Byakuya watched as she paused for a moment to survey the damage that was done to her left thigh, and he inwardly reprimanded her for such a foolish move. The time she had taken to stop and look at her wound had given the hollow a sufficient amount of time to collect itself and deliver a powerful blow the woman with its tail. He watched as she tumbled through buildings and landed roughly on the other side of the campus. The hollow, figuring the shinigami female was probably not dead yet, charged towards the pile of rubble that the shinigami female was in, leaving a mass of destruction in its wake.

Deciding that he had seen enough, Byakuya decided to step in and defeat the Hollow. Byakuya leapt from his position on the rooftop of one of the buildings and effortlessly unsheathed senbonzakura. Byakuya was far too dignified to exert any real force on such a simple hollow, so Byakuya opted for simply slicing the hollow with senbonzakura in its sealed state. The slice was clean and precise, as expected of a man of Byakuya's calibre, and Byakuya landed right in front of the shinigami female with an irritated expression.

The woman was youthful in appearance, and couldn't have been more than 20 or so in human years. She was covered in a bit of rubble, and appeared to be considerably wounded. Judging from her poor kenjutsu skills and susceptibility to incapacitating injury, it was most probable that she was a recent graduate of the academy who snuck out of the soul society without authorization, to try and have some fun. While the female shinigami couldn't possibly be the one entirely responsible for the unreported hollow exterminations (her lack of skill was more than enough proof) her presence was only proving problematic. He looked over the woman once, making sure that none of her injuries required immediate medical attention, and then he decided to get right down to business.

"No individuals matching your description have been given authorization to patrol this district. State your division and rank within said division, so that a formal report may be made detailing your insubordination."

The young woman appeared to be puzzled at his words, and furrowed her brows, whether in pain, confusion or a bit of both he was not sure. "I'm sorry, what?"

To his chagrin the young woman seemed to be unable to comprehend what he was speaking about. By the grandmother of the 100 districts, how could one be a member of a squad in the Gotei 13 and be unable to tell another officer of the squad you belong in, and your rank within the squad? Byakuya was positive that the shinigami female must have been from the 11th Division. Only Captain Kenpachi would be shameless enough to allow someone with such a poor level of understanding into his ranks.

"It appears as though the other captains have taken a partiality to enlisting illiterate trainees with their ranks. It is of no consequence, I shall reiterate my previous statement in terms more befitting of someone with your mental capacity, or lack thereof."

The woman stared at him blankly and blinked for a moment, before her features became hostile, and an aura of sheer rage enveloped her. Despite the obvious pain the young woman had to have been in, she rose from her position on her back, and strode toward Byakuya with purpose and pride. Byakuya barely had time to think before he felt the impact of the woman's hands against his cheek.

"Listen here you arrogant little crap, don't insult me and treat me as though incapable of comprehending anything you say! I heard you loud and clear, but what I'm trying to get at **king shit**, is that whatever you're talking about doesn't apply to me. I'm not part of any division, and as a consequence of that I have no rank. Now if you had the decency to approach me like a human—err Shinigami, then you would have been able to acquire this information."

Byakuya was almost too shocked to respond to the young woman. He had never, ever in his life been approached and handled the way he had been at that moment. If it weren't for the impeccable control he had over his own countenance, Byakuya's face would have sported a look of sheer disbelief.

Byakuya was barely able to keep his composure when realization of what had just occurred between the two of them struck him. This young woman was brash, insolent, and downright disrespectful. Byakuya's dislike for her was growing by the millisecond. He wasn't quite sure how much more of her he could take before he lost the fine line of control that he had over his emotions. Byakuya's countenance took on a cold, hardened expression, and Byakuya wasted no time in grabbing the woman by the hand she had used to slap him and cupping her chin roughly, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"It would be most advisable if you were to refrain from exhibiting such insolent behaviour in my presence, let alone toward me. Do not mistake my moderation for weakness woman. I am more than capable of crushing you without exerting myself in the least. My reiatsu alone could disarticulate your very being." Byakuya shook her roughly as he spoke, making sure to emphasize his every word.

The young woman tried to struggle against him but Byakuya's grip was far too strong for her to escape.

Karin stared back into the Captain's eyes defiantly and fearlessly responded to his indirect threat.

"Well 'disarticulate' me then, if you're such a badass. What's stopping you? I've got _nothing_ to lose."

Byakuya mentally counted to 10. He needed to collect himself and keep his temper in check. He would not, and could not dishonour himself by allowing an insolent young Shinigami to get him riled up.

"Do not test my restraint. You have more than past your limitations as a subordinate. If you continue with this deplorable display of disrespect, I will not hesitate to curb your insolence by force.

Karin had been bluffing of course, but she would never let the raven haired man know that. Being 'disarticulated' by a person who *technically* just saved your life did not sound like a very fun way to go. Karin was hoping that the man would not take her up on her offer, but Karin braced herself nonetheless for whatever the tall figure had in store for her. When a moment passed, and the man didn't attempt to do anything to her, Karin's antagonistic side got the better of her, and she couldn't help but let the words roll off of her tongue.

"Well what are you waiting for _Taicho?_" She jeered, making sure to put emphasis on his rank as a Shinigami. "I thought I told you to do your worst."

Karin knew she would hate herself later for this, but she was still upset with the male Shinigami for the harsh words he spat at her, and simply had to find some way at getting back at him.

"Oh don't tell me _Taicho, _has the Gotei 13 taken a partiality to promoting _illiterate_ shinigami to lead their divisions?"

Oh yes she'd done it. Karin could tell she'd hit his last nerve from the way his grip on her wrist and her chin had tightened exponentially. The raven haired Captain had finally lost his temper, and all of a sudden he began emitting a powerful surge of reiatsu. The force of the man's reiatsu began to make it difficult to stand, and soon it made it difficult for Karin to even breathe, but she fought with all her might to fight the urge to show the man any inkling of weakness.

Byakuya was impressed. Furious, but impressed; Not only had the woman managed to get under his skin without doing much at all, she had also put up a decent fight, holding up against his reiatsu with that same defiant look present on her face. Byakuya could not understand this woman for the life of him; he had more than once offered her a chance to repent for her discretions, yet she chose to invoke his wrath.

Byakuya wanted to break her. He wanted to force her to admit defeat, and acknowledge his superiority. His pride had kicked in, and Byakuya refused to lessen the weight of his spiritual pressure until she admitted defeat. Byakuya released an even more powerful surge of reiatsu, and he watched with a mixture of satisfaction and irritation as Karin's knees buckled, and she struggled even more to remain standing. He let go of her chin and wrist entirely, and increased the amount of spiritual pressure that he was releasing.

A pregnant silence ensued between the two of them, and they simply stayed there, eyeing each other as moments passed. Suddenly the woman clutched her left thigh and instinctively reached for Byakuya as a means of support. Her entire body weight was thrown against him as she grabbed onto the collar of Byakuya's Shihakusho. Byakuya had not anticipated this; He had hoped to destroy the defiance that the girl had towards him, but she hadn't dropped to the floor in ungracefully, rather she had clung to him for support. Even though such an act could have been interpreted as the woman admitting defeat, Byakuya still didn't feel satisfied. Byakuya had inadvertently stiffened at the contact, but quickly reigned in his body's natural response to unexpected physical contact, and relaxed his stance. He removed her hand from his collar, and rather roughly put her get into a seated position. It was not that Byakuya was uncomfortable, for it would be far below a man of his calibre to be discomforted by physical contact. It was just that Byakuya simply didn`t find it favourable to have a young _female _(whom in the short moments since their introduction he had grown to despise) grab onto his collar to support herself when it would be far more efficient for her to simply remain seated.

Karin could officially say that she hated herself. She could have left this whole altercation relatively unharmed (aside from the multiple injuries she has sustained while fighting the hollow), but now she found herself on the ground, fighting to maintain a steady breathing pattern, so that the arrogant prick in front of her would not get the satisfaction of seeing just how much he had affected her. It was probably a little too late for that however, seeing as she had all but thrown herself at him when the stress of his immense spiritual pressure (and Karin was positive that this was a far cry from his full force) caused the gash on her thigh to expand and bleed more profusely. Karin had only met a few Shinigami in her lifetime, but this man was by far the most unbearably arrogant, bigoted male –regardless of race/species – that she had ever met in her entire life. She couldn't stand him.

Silence had taken residence in the rather odd dialogue that the two shinigami had initiated, but quickly found itself competing for space with the almost palpable aura hatred that was coming off of the respective Shinigami in waves.

"You say that you do not belong to any specific faction within the Gotei?" Said Byakuya, after he'd reigned in his temper enough to speak to the girl without the effect she had on him being present in his voice.

Karin fought the urge to reply to the Taicho with a snappy reply, and opted for simply saying "Yeah, that's what I said."

Byakuya stared at the woman for a long moment, without saying a word. There was something familiar about her, an essence about her that was especially reminiscent of every single Shinigami that he had grown to dislike. Byakuya linked this similarity to the fact that the woman had the temperament of a Barbarian, much like the other Shinigami that had won his disfavour. But there was also something else about the young woman that had unfortunately drawn his attention. Byakuya noticed the woman looking at him expectantly for a reply, and decided to dismiss his musings for a later time.

"It is impossible" said Byakuya.

"What's impossible?" she replied.

"It is impossible for you to be a shinigami, without being assigned to a specific squad, unless of course you are still an academy student. The only other plausible explanation for your lack of a squad would be that you are a substitute shinigami. But to my knowledge, the Ryoka boy is the only living mortal that currently holds such a title, and none of his companions possess the propensity to become such."

'_This man is so strange'_, thought Karin after Byakuya began speaking again. Karin was extremely discomforted by the intenseness of his gaze. Every time he looked at her, he scanned her entire being, criticizing her every fault, and weighing her every asset. Men with stares like his were the reason why so many women were so self-conscious. If Karin was anything short of the level-headed, logical woman that she was, she would have sworn that the man was checking her out earlier, but Karin knew better. The raven haired male was probably just looking for another way to insult her, belittle her, or invoke her wrath. Karin was positive that was the reason behind his discriminating glare.

Realizing that she herself had also been lost in thought, Karin shook her head swiftly; bring herself back to the present to address Byakuya's reply. Karin was unaware that a hollow slaying 'Ryoka Boy' had been running around her city, but then again she couldn't have been sure that the Raven haired Captain was even talking about Karakura Town anymore.

"I'm still not sure I follow; who is this 'Ryoka Boy'" Said Karin, in an attempt to try and better understand what the older man was trying to get at.

"One Kurosaki Ichigo; A dauntingly ignorant brute whose peculiar sense of responsibility, and unusually favourable fortune has earned him a rather positive reputation within the soul society. Your lack of finesse in combat, and your illogical fighting strategies are quite reminiscent of him" Was Byakuya's response to the young woman's inquiry.

Karin chuckled out loud at the man's response, it sounded as if the guy really had something against her Aniki. But given the fact that this guy operated as though he had a log wedged up his ass, she'd be more surprised if there was someone the man didn`t have something against.

"Oi, that`s my _Aniki_ that you're talking about, and in my defense I think I'd be a much better fighter if I actually got to train with this thing" She said, waving her zanpakutou around.

"Aniki? Kurosaki has siblings?" Said Byakuya, careful to hide the surprise in his voice, although he really shouldn't have been so surprised; while the woman didn't have the same oddly hued hair that the Ryoka boy sported, there was certainly a strong resemblance between the two, both in features and in personality.

"Yep, he's got two of us; myself and my twin sister. Why is any of this important to you anyway?"

Byakuya resisted the urge to rub his temples in irritation. The mere concept of finding anything to do with that human brat as _important_ made him feel ill. "You misconstrue the nature of my inquiries. The Ryoka boy's personal life is irrelevant to me. However, the awareness of your existence may bring forth the answer to my query." Byakuya paused for a moment, carefully considering his words, so that he would sound disinterested, yet not so much so that the woman would be unresponsive to his queries or hostile… again.

"Your inexperience with wielding a zanpakutou, and your recent defeat leads one to believe that this is your first time attempting to exterminate a hollow." Yes, that was it, the perfect combination of disinterest in a question that had an answer that would peak his interest. Based on the woman's previous behaviour, she would most likely get defensive, but answer his question in the process.

"First of all, I did **NOT** get defeated. I was simply caught off guard."

As expected she had taken the bait.

"Secondly, yes and no; I've exterminated hollows before, but I've never had the experience of exterminating them in shinigami form. I've always been in my human body whenever I've fought hollows" was Karin's reply.

'_Exterminating hollows in human form? Only a true Kurosaki could project such an absurd statement, without the factuality of said statement being questioned' _Thought Byakuya. He was surprised at the young woman's ability, but praising her outwardly would only cause her to feel as though she had gained his respect, which she hadn`t. Her brash behaviour and her defiant stares only made Byakuya dislike her. He couldn`t stand the girl, and because of that, he would not do or say anything that could be interpreted as him warming up to her. Besides, even if he did _somewhat_ respect her ability (which he assured himself that he didn`t) he would never admit to something like that outwardly, a man of his stature never gave praises outwardly to just anyone. Especially not anyone related to the Ryoka Boy.

"How disappointing, I was informed that your brother had exceeded expectation when he had initially begun exterminating hollow. Not even to mention his gross disadvantage, having had no prior knowledge of how hollows or the spiritual multiverse in its entirety function. His performance overshadows your own, exponentially so."

Karin's eyes widened for a minute, and then she quickly looked away. This man was absolutely unbelievable; he seemed to be set on destroying her self-esteem. Karin was almost positive that the Gotei 13 had commissioned him to come to Karakura Town to destroy any inkling of pride that Karin possessed. His words had stung; why did everyone have to constantly compare her to her Aniki? Honestly it hardly even made sense to her; they were completely different people, with different interests, and strengths. It was this same habit that people had of comparing the both of them that made Karin start exterminating hollows in secret. And it was this same constant comparison that made her seek out Urahara's help. Karin felt her anger begin to boil over again, and tried to get up from her sitting position, but the pain in her leg caused her to struggle. A hand on her shoulder urging her to stay in her position caused her to look back at the man that had been the major contributing cause of her anger today.

"You are injured." was all he said, his eyes directed at the blood stain on the part of her shihakusho covering her left thigh.

"And so what if I'm injured? I'll deal with it on my own just leave me alone and go about your merry way."

She began dragging herself on the ground away from him, but the shinigami male did not relent. In fact, he did more than refuse to acknowledge her request; Byakuya reached forward and grabbed the girl by her injured leg and dragged her towards him. He ripped the pant leg of her shihakusho, exposing her injured leg. Byakuya then summoned healing kido into his free hands' palm, and went to work on Karin's leg.

Byakuya was not the most proficient medical shinigami, but his perfectionist nature required him to have an at least considerably above average knowledge of every field that incorporated the use of shinigami powers and reishi, whether he specialized in that field or not. Byakuya at first could not understand the reason for his actions, but he quickly assured himself that he was doing this out of duty, rather than favour. It would look rather irresponsible of him if he were to allow a significantly weaker Shinigami to hobble about on a seriously injured leg in his presence.

If Byakuya was a more sympathetic man, he would have almost regretted the words he spoke to the young woman that had caused her to get all riled up (for the second time since their introduction, no less) but he could not change the past, and wouldn't attempt to do or say anything to remedy his past actions. Besides, comparison to her older brother was something that the young woman would simply have to get used to; Her brother had accomplished a great number of feats that many could only dream of accomplishing, and because of their biological ties people would naturally expect someone from the same loins as the Ryoka boy to possess the same amount extraordinary of talent.

Byakuya was concentrating fully on healing Karin's injuries, but he found it difficult to remain fully engrossed in his work because the girl kept fidgeting while he was trying to heal her leg. Byakuya was trying to figure out what exactly was causing her discomfort, with very little success, but realization struck him the moment he decided to look into Karin's face. Byakuya's grip on Karin's leg never loosened, and he hadn't even noticed that he had still been holding it until he looked at the young shinigami's face and noticed the slight red tint that had adorned her cheeks, and the self-conscious expression that she had on her face. Realizing that he had still been holding her at a very _intimate_ part of her leg, he let go of her leg altogether, and made sure to make it appear as though he didn't notice her embarrassment, or the awkward position that they had previously been in.

"I'm Karin by the way" said Karin after she couldn't take the silence anymore.

Karin was relieved when Byakuya let go of her thigh but Karin was too proud to sigh in relief when he broke his hold, and had spent the last couple of silent moments mulling over something to say to the shinigami man who was kneeling in front of her, healing her injuries.

Byakuya said nothing in response to the young woman, but simply looked up and raised his eyebrow questioningly at her. He was so lost in thought that he had barely heard what the young woman had said.

"My name… I'm Kurosaki Karin"

_Ahh_ so this was the one that Urahara had mentioned. Byakuya had found his man, or woman rather, but he was not sure as to how he should respond to her statement. One ill-phrased sentence, and he might appear as though he was interested in getting to know her, which he wasn't. A young human as insolent as she, let alone a _Kurosaki_ human, would serve no purpose other than to cause him unnecessary aggravation. The only intelligible reply he could muster up was a simple "hn."

Unfortunately for Byakuya, a simple grunt of acknowledgement was not enough for Karin.

"You know, this is the part where you tell me your name, so that we can engage in conversation without having to address each other as 'Shinigami-san'. Spit it out already, what's your name?"

"Hn."

"Don't start that 'ere of disinterest' crap with me, I just want to know your name." Karin snapped. However, one warning glare from Byakuya told her that she probably wouldn't get away with displaying her the temper like she had ever so generously given him the honour of experiencing, a second time. Karin paused for a moment and avoided looking into his face as she spoke,

"You… You did sort of save my life back there. I'd like to know your name so I… I can thank you properly." She said, slightly embarrassed at having to admit that she would not have made it without his help.

Byakuya finished healing Karin's leg and rose up from his kneeling position. He turned away from Karin, and made as if he intended to leave.

"Kuchiki Byakuya." was all that he said, before he disappeared in a flash of shunpo, leaving Karin in a state of mystification and annoyance.

'_What the hell was that!'_ Thought Karin. This 'Kuchiki Byakuya' never ceased to irritate her. How could he just tell her who he was, and then leave like that? Sure, she hadn't asked him to stay, nor had she been particularly inviting to him, but he was just so… RUDE!

Karin stood up from her seated position, with the intention of chasing after Byakuya, but stopped mid-step when she remembered two things: For one, She didn't know how to shunpo, and there was no way she could possibly run fast enough to catch up with him. And two, she had no idea where her human body and her soul candy were located at the moment. For the second time again since she had woken up, Karin _truly_ wished that she had stayed home this morning.

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**A/N: Well what did you think? **

**In forward, I would like to apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors, I proofread my story by myself, and I haven't really gotten an opportunity to read it through as thoroughly as I would have liked to.**

**I hope you guys like the way that i'm writing Byakuya, he's one of my favourite Bleach characters, and I really enjoy writing his parts. I want to expand on Byakuya's thought processes in later chapters though. Maybe i'm crazy, but I imagine that there's far more going on in that head of his then what he leads people to believe. **

**Question of the Chapter: **

**Why do you think Byakuya was staring so intently at Karin? I'm really interested to see your answers, I want to see if anyone can guess why :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Hollow Confessions

**A/N: Before we start, let me just apologize for the late update. I try to keep updates weekly, but I've been very busy this past little while, and I haven't really been able to get any free time to upload a new chapter. I'm going to try my best to stay on schedule.**

**Please enjoy this chapter, and a review after you read would be **_**highly**_** appreciated.**

**Reviews are my motivation :)**

**I do not own bleach, nor do I make a profit from writing this fanfiction.**

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Byakuya had decided to return to Urahara's shop before returned to Seireitei. He had found what he believed was the source of inconsistency with the hollow extermination reports, but now he had to go about remedying the situation. When Byakuya entered Urahara's shop, he found Urahara sitting in front of his table, with a grin spread across his face.

"I see you've met my latest muse Kuchiki-Taicho."

"Hn."

"Charming woman isn't she? Karin reminds me so much of Yoruichi when she was younger, the vigour and that fierce temper, all very Yoruichi-esque, wouldn't you agree?"

"'Charming' is _far_ from the word I would use to describe that brutish Kurosaki. However, I must concede that her temperament is unfortunately akin to that of the Shihouin She-Cat." Was Byakuya's reply to the strangely clad man.

Byakuya could hardly anything even remotely related to charming in the woman; if anything, Karin had been baptised in a concentrated solution of charm-repellent as a child. Urahara on the other hand appeared to be rather fond of the young woman, praising her and even comparing her to a woman that he most certainly admired.

Although Byakuya and Urahara never shared an especially close relationship, it was rather obvious that the former captain harboured very strong feelings for the Goddess of Flash. Even as a young boy, Byakuya had noticed Urahara's feelings toward Yoruichi. From the subtle stares and the eye contact that lasted longer than normal, to the concern Urahara always expressed for her, and the longing expression that used to adorn his features whenever they had to part. Urahara definitely loved Yoruichi. If Urahara was comparing Karin to Yoruichi then it was quite obvious that he both respected and appreciated the young woman a great deal, which _almost_ bothered Byakuya. _Almost_.

"So what do you think of her Kuchiki-Taicho" Said Urahara as he flashed his fan in front of his face to hide the mischievous grin that he donned on his face.

"There is absolutely nothing to think about when the subject that you are referring to is akin to street filth. It would be of no benefit to me if I were to waste my time forming an opinion on an individual that means nothing to me."

It was obvious that there was some sort of altercation that went on between Karin and Byakuya, noted Urahara. While the surge in Byakuya's reiatsu _after_ the hollow had been exterminated did not go unnoticed Urahara, upon realizing that something had happened between the two Shinigami, Urahara had decided to tease Byakuya over his slip up.

"Ah I see, so those bursts of reiatsu coming from you were a result of my dearest Karin-chan getting under your skin. I never would have anticipated that Karin-chan would have that… _Effect_, on you of all people Kuchiki-Taicho" said Urahara, careful to emphasize the word 'effect', hoping that Byakuya would catch the implication.

Byakuya understood perfectly what the implications of Urahara's words were but chose to ignore them. He had given into enough antagonism today, and simply wanted to return to his estate in the comfort of Seireitei, far away from that insolent Kurosaki spawn, and her eccentric mentor.

"You will inform my sister of the Ryoka Boy's sisters' Hollow slaying activities. I expect that the next number of reports from Karakura Town that cross my desks or the desks of the other captains will have reports that include details of Kurosaki's sisters successful or failed hollow slaying missions. I will take my leave now." Byakuya did not wait to hear Urahara's reply and swiftly opened a Senkaimon and stepped through it.

Urahara chuckled heartily as the Senkaimon closed behind Byakuya; he had obviously struck some sort of nerve. It was a shame though Urahara thought, that a man as young as Byakuya had turned into such a prude. But being the head of a Noble clan did have the tendency to turn even the liveliest person into a stiff, humourless shmuck.

Not too long after Byakuya left, had Karin come into the shop, looking all sorts of agitated and exhausted. Karin strode near the table and ungracefully flopped herself in one of the chairs and letting out a moan of frustration.

"Oi Kisuke you bald bastard! Help me get rid of my shinigami powers, they're useless" Said Karin as she buried her head between her arms on the table.

"But Karin-chan, it's only been a few days!" Urahara said as he strode up to the table, taking a seat opposite Karin.

"Don't care. What's the point of a Shinigami that can't use her sword? I might as well wrap myself in nice packaging labelled 'hollow bait'. All I am is a big bundle of defenseless reiatsu" Karin deadpanned.

"You know Karin-chan, if you want to advance that badly, I have a method that I used on your brother when he first gained his Shinigami powers, I could use it on you, if you wanted."

"Not interested." She snapped.

"But why would you settle for drowning in your own self-pity, when you have a chance at having the skill of a captain in only a few days, rather than years, or centuries?" Urahara questioned.

"I don't want to strengthen my powers the same way Ichi-nii did. Cheap shortcuts aren't my thing Urahara, I want to earn my powers honestly. I don't care if it takes a year, or ten years, or even 100 years. I'm an 18 year old _Shinigami_; my lifespan will inevitably be a long one unless it's cut short by my own personal failure. I have all the time in the world to train and become a formidable shinigami. I want to do this the right way." Karin replied.

Urahara simply nodded in response. He had to admit that he had respected her way of thinking; Karin was different from her brother, more logical and contemplative. While she and her brother did share similar moral code, she was more prideful than her brother, and he could tell just from her actions, that the last thing Karin wanted to do was shadow her Aniki's path.

"So Karin-chan, how was your first day in the field with your powers." Asked Urahara, as if he didn't already know the outcome.

Karin gave him a look that clearly voiced her displeasure with having to repeat the events of the day, but decided to anyway.

Karin reluctantly poured out every last detail of her encounter with the hollow and the Captain of the 6th division to Urahara, as Urahara listened to every word she said intently. He nodded in understanding expressed how offended she was when the captain compared her failure to Ichigo's successes, and chuckled with his fan in front of his face when Karin got to the part about the captain forcibly healing her.

"I _hate_ that bastard. I don't know how anyone puts up with him" she said finally letting out a huff of frustration.

"Which bastard?" called out a familiar voice as they entered the shop. Both Urahara and Karin turned to face the owner of the voice, who turned out to be Rukia. Both parties seemed hesitant to disclose who, and what they were talking about, but for different reasons: Urahara did not want to let Rukia know that it was her beloved brother that Karin had rather indignantly referred to as a bastard. Whereas Karin (who was unaware of Rukia's relationship with Byakuya) simply didn't want Rukia to know about her Hollow slaying escapades, fearing that she would let her brother know.

"Karin-chan was just discussing her frustration with her Philosophy professor, she believes that he gives her and her peers more work than they can handle" Said Urahara swiftly, before Rukia could realize that they were trying to hide something from her.

Rukia nodded in understanding. "I would agree with Karin. She has been so busy with her studies and soccer practice, that I rarely see her around the house these days"

Karin could have hugged Urahara; he was truly a life saver. She didn't know how he was able to figure it out, but somehow he must've noticed that she was uncomfortable with letting Rukia know about her secret, and was looking out for her.

"Well, only a few more months until I'm free of his idiocy, and hopefully in a few more years I'll never have to see his face again" Karin said, smiling slightly.

Rukia nodded in acknowledgement of Karin's words before she spoke again. "Urahara-san, you called me over to speak to me about something?"

Remembering the purpose of calling Rukia over to the candy shop Urahara began, "Ah yes, I did. As I'm sure you were able to sense, your brother came to the human world for a brief visit. He didn't have time to come and visit you I'm afraid seeing as he was here on business, but he did ask me give you a message."

Karin got up from her chair, attempting to leave the room to give Rukia and Urahara more privacy, but Urahara stopped her.

"Karin-chan stay put, I'd like you to be here as this ultimately concerns you as well" he said before her continued.

"Your brother came to me concerning an inconsistency between the 12th divisions reports of Garganta being opened, and reports of hollow being exterminated in the area. While it is usually not uncommon for the number of Garganta being opened to exceed the number of reports of hollow being slayed – given the fact that sometimes hollow don't stay very long in an area, and head back to Hueco Mundo, or travel to some other region in the human world - Your brother noticed that the number was far too high to simply be coincidental, and this trend had been constant for several months now."

Urahara paused and waited for the girls to digest some of what he had said.

"After he brought his finding to me, and we quickly ruled out Ichigo and the others as being the cause. This was due to you, Rukia, always keeping track of Ichigo and the others, and making sure reports were written after each successful extermination. This is where Karin comes in."

Rukia looked questioningly in Karin's direction before she turned back to Urahara to listen to the rest of his explanation.

"As I'm sure you must have had _no_ idea, Karin has been exterminating hollows for quite some time now. Up until last weekend, she had been doing so in her human body, with the aid of some of my equipment. After a while however, I suppose Karin grew tired of sustaining injuries on her human body, and approached me about helping her develop her shinigami powers. I spent the weekend working with Karin, and at present she can access her once dormant Shinigami powers. I realize that Karin must have neglected to inform you of her powers for good reason, but after Byakuya had expressed his concerns to me, he made it clear that he did not want any more false alarms like this occurring within the data reports. Your brother asked me to make sure that Karin delivered reports to you every time she engaged a hollow, which of course you would then deliver to him with the rest of the reports at the end of every week." He said finally.

Karin looked like she wanted to find any hole in the ground and hide herself in it. She thought Urahara was looking out for her, not trying to get her hanged! Karin was seriously beginning to think there was some form of conspiracy being plotted against her; Karin knew that as soon as Rukia went home she'd be telling Ichigo about her hollow slaying escapades. Karin really didn't want to deal with the questions or concerns that Ichigo would have for her, as well as the anger and disappointment of finding out that she had been hiding something this big from him. Karin could tell from the look on Rukia's face that she too was concerned, disappointed, angry, and full of questions. Karin supposed now was as good a time as any to have her secret thrown out into the open, seeing as the reaction would have probably been even worse if she had waited longer.

"I'm very surprised, that much I can say. I never had the faintest clue that Karin had advanced to that level so quickly. Although now that the truth is out in the open, it does explain why a lot of hollows that myself and the others have pursued have mysteriously disappeared by the time we arrived to take care of them. It also explains why a reiatsu eerily similar to your own was always present when we arrived. I had my suspicions for a while, but I disregarded them because I thought you were above hiding things like this. I won't lie to you Karin; I'm a bit hurt that you would hide something like this. I understand that your brother can sometimes be a little overbearing, but you could have… you _should_ have let me know."

Karin shrugged, "I just wanted to handle this on my own. I'm sorry for making you feel as though I don't trust you. I do trust you I promise, it's just that I wanted to grow as my own person, and sometimes telling you or Ichigo about my goals hinders me from doing so, because you guys – especially Ichigo – try to achieve them _for _me."

"Regardless, from this point forward you will write a _detailed_ handwritten report to me after each engagement with a hollow. Unfortunately, you will also have to let Ichigo know about your powers, and what you've been doing these past few months." Said Rukia sternly.

Karin and Rukia had bid their farewell to Urahara before they began the trek back to the Kurosaki house. They walked back home in relative silence. When they arrived at the Kurosaki household they found Yuzu in the kitchen preparing what appeared to be lunch for the day, and Ichigo pacing worriedly in the living. Isshin as usual was probably at the clinic taking care of patients. As soon as Karin walked into the house Yuzu and Ichigo rushed towards her presence.

"Karin-chan, I was so worried about you!" Bawled Yuzu as she locked Karin in an iron grip embrace, tears streaming down her face profusely.

"Why would you be worried about me?" Karin asked, forgetting about the earlier events of the day.

"Nani! Karin-chan it's all over the news, your university, it's in shambles! I was so worried that something had happened to you" Yuzu said, crying even harder.

"Yuzu stop crying, it's completely unnecessary, I'm fine. I just want to get some food and take a nap" Karin said as she patted her sisters back and gently removed Yuzu's person from off of her. As Karin tried to walk past her worried siblings, Ichigo grabbed her by her shoulder, and looked her in the eye.

"Karin, are you sure you're alright?" said Ichigo with concern adorning his face.

"I'm fine Ichi-nii, it's just—"

Karin suddenly remembered what she had headed home for in the first place, and decided to get it over with once and for all.

"Look, can we talk for a minute?" Karin said as she began to walk, without waiting for a response. Ichigo quickly followed Karin upstairs and into the hallway. Karin turned around to look at Ichigo, rubbing her temples for a moment before speaking.

"Okay, so here it is; as you know, I've been able to see ghosts and all of that jazz since I was little. I've grown stronger spiritually as I've gotten older, and for the past little while I've been slaying hollows"

Karin paused when she saw the look of sheer disbelief adorn Ichigo's features, but decided to finish what she had started, and continued her confession.

"Not only that, but recently – this weekend actually – I asked Kisuke to help me achieve shinigami form, and as of Sunday I became a full-fledged shinigami… Oh, and a fight with a hollow at my campus is the reason why the whole University is in virtual ruins. There, that's pretty much everything." Karin said, letting out a sigh as she finished.

"Karin… Why didn't you ever come to me for help? What if you had gotten yourself killed trying to fight hollows!" Said Ichigo with a mixture of hurt and anger in his voice.

"I'm not incompetent Ichi-nii I've managed myself fine up until this point. Besides, Yoruichi-san and Kisuke were always looking out for me in the beginning. I never came for your help because I did _not_ need it, nor did I want it" She said to him.

"Why wouldn't you want my help? Exterminating hollows is a dangerous job Karin; even I've faced certain death in the face while trying to kill them!"

"No shit" Karin replied.

"Don't talk to me like that Karin; I'm trying to look out for your best interests! I can't believe you would hide something like this from me..."

"I hid it from you because I knew you'd react so ridiculously! I'm not a baby anymore _Ichigo_, I can handle myself. You need to stop trying to be my father, I already have one in that embarrassing parent of ours!" she said, dropping the suffix of endearment from her elder brother's name.

Ichigo grabbed Karin by her shoulders and shook her roughly as he spoke, "I don't want you slaying hollows anymore Karin. That isn't your place in this world. Forget about shinigami life, and focus on being a normal civilian!"

Karin's eyes widened in shock at her brothers words, and she roughly shoved her brother away from her, yelling her reply at the top of her lungs.

"Are you afraid that I'm trying to compete with you Ichigo? Don't worry about me taking your limelight Nii-san, I don't want to be _anything_ like you, you make me sick!" She said before she ran down the stairs, and out of the house.

Karin ran as fast as her legs would carry her, fighting to keep the tears from rolling out of her eyes. She didn't want to cry again, a tear hadn't left her eyes in years, and she'd be damned if she'd allow one small altercation with her brother to cause her to break.

He was such a frustration person sometimes! How could he think that he could just tell her what to do, and then expect that she would follow his orders? Did he really think that she would completely deny her existence and her nature as a Shinigami! How hypocritical was he! God bless the queen if he wanted to be a shinigami, but she couldn't even think about it, because his stupid male ego didn't feel that it was acceptable.

Karin ran a few blocks away from the Kurosaki home, and into the Aoki park trail. She didn't stop running until she met the bridge. Once there she stopped, and leaned over the bridge to catch her breath, watching the wild koi fish swim in the stream. Karin had always loved this park trail, because the stream that ran through it was chock full of koi fish. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved to watch the koi swim around the stream with grace. Sometimes Karin wished she could be as graceful and as carefree as a koi fish. The way they swam around in the stream and interacted with each other was peaceful and admirable to watch. Karin simply stayed there, watching koi swim around in the stream. Karin was so entranced by the fish in the stream that she didn't even notice the presence behind her.

"Are you alright Karin?" said a voice.

Karin turned around to see Rukia standing behind her, with her hands clasped together.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said in reply

"I spoke to your brother about his uncalled for behaviour, and I assure you that he regrets his actions."

Karin chuckled at the older woman's words, knowing that Rukia had probably confronted him violently.

"Your brother is much too proud to outwardly admit it, but he only reacted the way he did because he cares for you, and doesn't want you to be in any danger." Said Rukia.

"It doesn't change the fact that he's an unreasonable asshole. I don't even want to talk to him anymore." She said.

"Trust me Karin, I understand your anger towards your brother. But older brothers are very protective of their younger sisters, and sometimes that overprotectiveness causes them to hamper their younger siblings' growth, while falsely believing that they are protecting them." Rukia said, remembering the way that her brother had kept her from becoming a seated officer back in her younger days.

"Oh really, what makes you such an expert on the relationship that I have with my brother?" Said Karin skeptically.

"My brother was the same way with me when I first became a shinigami. Although I didn't know it at the time, he had asked my Taicho not to make me a seated officer, even though I had more skill then the other seated officers in my division. It took a heated confrontation, and a great deal of time before he finally realized that he couldn`t keep trying to 'protect' me from the dangers of the world." Rukia replied.

"Ah…" Said Karin. She was glad to be talking to someone who understood what she was going through with Ichigo on a personal level.

The two women stayed by the bridge in relative silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. After a moment Rukia decided to break the silence with a question.

"So when exactly did Urahara help you to awaken your Shinigami powers?"

Karin looked up at Rukia, surprised at her question, but replied anyway "this past Friday is when we actually started. That's why I wasn't home from Friday until late Sunday night. I had spent virtually all my time with him trying to rouse my Shinigami form, and subsequently try and make contact with my zanpakutou spirit."

"Were you successful?" Rukia inquired, interested in the results of Karin's training.

"Sort of… I tried to get into my inner world, but everything was just so hazy, I could barely see anything. I heard a faint voice in the distance, and I saw a sword being handed to me, and that was all. I stayed there trying to see past the haze, but the darkness didn't let up. It started to get really late and I had school the next day, so we called it quits. The only thing I managed to do that day was materialize my zanpakutou."

Rukia nodded in understanding; it had also taken her a while to successfully master the art of Jinzen. The concentration required was very deep. It was likely that Karin was too worn out after her transition into a full shinigami to maintain the focus required to achieve Jinzen.

"You could always ask your brother for help if you want. Ichigo may not be the best at sensing reiatsu or using kido, but he could be of assistance to you with achieving Jinzen. It is one of the few Shinigami technical arts that he has successfully mastered" said Rukia.

"I _don't_ want to be helped by Ichigo, I want to follow by own path" Karin snapped.

"Well, if you would prefer not to have Ichigo train with you, I could help you achieve Jinzen, if you would feel comfortable with that."

Karin could hear the pleading in Rukia's voice, and she could tell that the older woman genuinely wanted to build some sort of connection with her, and couldn't help but feel the need to comply.

"I would really appreciate that, Rukia-san" Karin replied with a smile.

The older women beamed and her eyes lit up with enthusiasm, and she span around with happiness.

"This is wonderful, it's almost like having a younger sister! I have so much to teach you now… You need to learn about basic Reishi principles, proper utilization of Reiatsu… Oh! And of course there's the practical application of Kido…" the older woman babbled.

Karin thought that Rukia was getting a little too ahead of herself; Karin had agreed to allow Rukia to help her achieve Jinzen, not give her a homeschooled version of the Shino Academy curriculum.

"Ano, I think Jinzen training is all I need for now Rukia-san –" Karin sweat dropped...

"Nonsense, I don't want to make you into a mediocre Shinigami. You said you wanted to be different from your brother right? Well, you can start here, by training to become a well-rounded shinigami. Ichigo is a very powerful shinigami, but his theory, Kido and technique leave much to be desired. He's literally a mass of raw, unrefined reiatsu. If you let me help you, you can be different from him, your own brand of substitute Shinigami." Rukia said to Karin, slightly more serious.

Karin hated to admit it, but Rukia was right. She would inevitably be a carbon copy of her brother if she focused solely on her swordsmanship and achieving bankai. Perhaps learning about other aspects of being a Shinigami would be beneficial to her ultimate goal.

"I guess you're right. Thank you for offering your help to me Rukia-san" Karin grinned honestly at the older woman

Rukia flashed Karin a confident smile in return. "My pleasure Karin. Besides, I've always wanted to be called 'Kuchiki-Sensei'" Said Rukia.

Wow, wait a sec, '_kuchiki'?_

Karin's mind instantly went back to the earlier events of the day, and her mind nearly imploded on itself with understanding and realization. That arrogant prick back at the campus was the (presumably older) brother of Rukia that Urahara mentioned. Besides the raven-hued hair, Karin didn't see a great resemblance between the two of them. Nontheless, after piecing together her experiences, Rukia's surname, and the earlier conversation that was had with Urahara, it was almost impossible to mistake the fact that _he_ would have had to be Rukia's brother. Still refusing to believe that it could be true, Karin had to ask Rukia for confirmation.

"Did you just say 'Kuchiki'?"

"Yes I did, it is my surname after all. Why do you ask?" Said Rukia.

"You're related to that asshole! That same shinigami that wanted _my_ missions and development to be reported to him!" Karin exclaimed.

"N-nani…?" Said a confused Rukia.

"That Byakuya bastard who came and interfered with my battle with that hollow! He's related to you!" Karin cried, even though that wasn't technically true. Byakuya had _saved_ her from certain death, but Karin conveniently forgot about that part of her encounter entirely.

"Oi, that's _my_ Nii-sama, and the 28th head of the Kuchiki clan. Don't speak of him in that manner, he deserves respect and admiration! He is powerful yet majestic, the very epitome of discipline!" Rukia retorted.

Was this god or her brother that Rukia was talking about? Obviously Rukia had some sort of super-zealous-brother-worshipping complex, or was fully retarded. How could someone who _lived_ with that prick describe him with such flattering adjectives, while keeping a straight face? Thought Karin.

"I respect people that respect me. He obviously has no respect for me, and therefore I have no respect for him!" Karin said.

"What has my brother done to you that could ever be considered disrespectful?" Asked Rukia curiously.

And for the second time in a row, Karin retold the events of her day and her encounter with Byakuya. Rukia listened to the encounter with a mouth agape, and eyes wide.

"You… were the reason why Nii-sama's reiatsu was flaring this morning?" Rukia said, shocked.

"Well, not entirely. I just instigated, but it's his fault for letting me get to him" Karin replied.

Rukia couldn't believe it. One girl had done what even the entire Shinigami Women's Association under Lieutenant Yachiru's guidance couldn't do; she actually incurred the wrath of Rukia's older brother. What was even more shocking is the fact that he stopped to heal her even after that. That was by far the most puzzling part; Byakuya wasn't cruel and unfeeling, but he would normally never be take the time to heal someone who he had just 'disciplined' previously injured or not. He'd left people with even worse injuries than the ones Karin described to their own devices after an encounter like that, so Rukia could only make a few guesses as to what his reasons for helping Karin were.

"You should apologize to him." Said rukia

"W-What! Why would I do that? Why can't he apologize for offending me?"

Rukia didn't utter her thoughts aloud, but knowing her brother as well as she did, she realized that in Byakuya's own strange and silent way, him healing Karin was most likely his way of apologizing (in a way that was almost completely indiscernible to anyone other than himself, of course).

"You were disrespectful to him, and you did not properly thank him for healing your injuries" Said Rukia, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well when I _tried_ to thank him, your prick of a brother decided to disappear right in front of my face." Karin replied.

"Regardless, at the end of this month I will be taking an extended trip to the Soul Society to wrap up some division business, as well as to attend a Shinigami meeting. When we have finished with your training and I prepare to send all of your mission reports to my brother in the 6th division, you will accompany me with a formally written apology letter."

"You can't make me apologize to him!" Karin retorted

"I order you to apologize as your sensei, and I ask you to apologize as your nakama." Rukia said earnestly.

Normally Karin would have flat out told Rukia to 'fuck off', but some miniscule part of her actually _wanted_ to see the 6th Division Captain. It made her slightly sick to admit it to herself, but despite him being such a great source of irritation, something about him (and she refused to acknowledge that it may have had anything to do with his appearance) made her want to see him again even if it meant bringing a stupid apology letter with her. Karin's resolve to refuse to accompany Rukia caved in to the smaller, clinically insane part of her and she reluctantly agreed to do as Rukia wished.

"Fine, I'll do it." She said.

"Wonderful!" said Rukia then she continued, "Now, let's begin your training!"

* * *

**N/A: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It wasn't chock full of exciting developments, but it was necessary. I will be uploading the next chapter very soon, and I think you guys will like it a lot. The next chapter is going to be the turning point where the plot is going to start to pick up it's pace!**

**Question of the chapter: **

**Did you like the little hint of YoruHara I threw in this chapter?**

**Next chapter:**

_A few weeks have passed since Rukia and Karin have started training together. After a quick spar Karin tries Jinzen Again, and we finally get to meet her Zanpakuto._

**Ch.3 Preview:**

_It was a screwed up analogy that made very little to no sense, but Rukia just hoped it would work. Karin was of like mind, but appreciated the effort anyway and tried to do what she had been instructed. All of a sudden Karin heard a heartbeat-like sound, and could feel the vibration of her sword coursing through her. She did as she was told, and tried to mimic the rhythm with her heart and mind. Karin got more and more into rhythm, until she felt like she had reached perfect balance… Then suddenly there was no beating or vibration at all. Karin opened her eyes._

_It was a beautiful sight._


	4. Chapter 4: Burning Envy

**A/N: Thankyou everyone who reviewed last week's chapter, I appreciated all of your critiques, thoughts, and opinions. I apologize for not getting a chance to reply to everyone's reviews for chapters 1 and 2.**

**I have decided to put a conscious effort into making sure that I reply to every review I got for this last week's chapter, as well as every chapter from this point forward. I will leave my replies at the end of each chapter if you are not reviewing with an account, of if your review was expressed concerns/interesting points that I think many other readers might also have on their minds.**

**I won't beg, force, or threaten any of you to review my story, because IMO I think that's really corny. However, I'd really appreciate it if you did, and I appreciate every last review I get from my readers. This chapter has a chapter count of over 8,159 words, and every last character was written for your enjoyment. **

**Oh and before I forget, Happy Birthday Karin and Yuzu! (May 6****th**** is their birthday)**

**Unfamiliar Terms for this Chapter:**

**Jinzen – Meditative art used to enter your inner world, and converse with your zanpakutou**

**Omedatou Gozaimasu – A very formal way of saying "Congratulations"**

**Okaasan – Mother **

**Furisode – A long sleeved Kimono (Sort of like the Sleeves of Sode No Shirayuki's Kimono in the Zanpakutou Unknown Tales Arc[Anime])**

**I Do Not Own Bleach  
**

* * *

Three and a half weeks had passed since Rukia and Karin had begun training together. Every day after Karin came back from her lectures the two women would meet up at Urahara's place and train in the basement training ground. Despite Karin asking him, Urahara did not continue help her train to improve her swordsmanship past a certain extent. He claimed that his Benihime was "Not made for training others" and that Rukia's zanpakutou "fit the bill better." However, he had promised her he and Yoruichi would be there to guide her, and assist her in any way possible, just as they had been when she had first became a spiritual medium.

Yoruichi had really taken to her role as a mentor, and had been a great help to Karin over the last 3 and a half weeks. Even though Rukia was quite proficient in the use of Shunpo, she had given the job of teaching Karin Shunpo over to Yoruichi without any resistance. While Yoruichi did not go around bragging about her talent, it was a well-known fact amongst Shinigami that Yoruichi's speed was damned near mythical. Karin had greatly enjoyed learning how to Shunpo from Yoruichi, and speed-training had quickly become one of her favourite parts of training. While still rather slow (in comparison to other more experienced Shinigami), Karin had proved a natural, and certainly showed the potential to become a master of the art in her own right.

Karin and Rukia had just finished a particularly intense sparing session, and the two winded women were presently catching their breaths before beginning the meditative portion of Karin's training. After their breathing had steadied, both women walked southward in the training ground, until they approached a large circle of stone pillars. The two women walked in the centre of the pillars and began ready themselves for their next exercise.

"I don't think I'm getting anywhere with Jinzen, Rukia. Every day we've tried, and I always come out with the same results. I'm not cut out for the more spiritual side of being a Shinigami" Said Karin as she got into the proper meditative position

"You need to relax your mind and be free. You and your zanpakuto are a unit; two halves of one soul. You need to accept you blade as a part of you, rather than viewing it as a simple weapon, and concentrate with that principal in mind. Listen carefully to your zanpakuto, and focus in on the unique hum of your blade as it rests on your lap."

Karin nodded and closed her eyes, trying to find the hum, but to no avail. Rukia saw Karin's eyebrows furrow, and tried to think of a simpler way to explain getting into Jinzen to her.

"Karin think of Jinzen like you would soccer: When the ball is moving while you kick it, each time your foot connects with the ball, in your mind you have to make sure you're in 'rhythm' with the ball so that you use the right amount of force to propel it forward at the right distance, am I right?" Rukia said

Karin kept her eyes closed, but nodded in response.

"Pretend your zanpakutou is a soccer ball, and your heart and mind are your foot. Each time you hear the beat of your zanpakutou's natural hum, your heartbeat and your mind must align with that rhythm."

It was a screwed up analogy that made very little to no sense, but Rukia just hoped it would work. Karin was of like mind, but appreciated the effort anyway and tried to do what she had been instructed. Karin dismissed all of her other thoughts and concentrated intensely. All of a sudden Karin could hear a heartbeat-like sound, and could feel the vibration of her sword coursing through her. She did as she was told, and tried to mimic the rhythm with her heart and mind. As she got more and more into rhythm, she felt like she had reached perfect balance… Suddenly there was no beating or vibration at all. Karin opened her eyes.

It was a beautiful sight.

The skies were midnight black, with a pearly white full moon shining above a vast garden, decorated with a variety of species of beautiful white and black moonflowers, Nightblooming Cacti and Magnolia's, White Alba trees, Dogwood, Ghostplant and allspice. The garden was lavished in brilliant hues of green, black and white, continuing endlessly into the horizon and onto rolling hills that surrounded the woodland oasis.

Even though the sky was midnight black and a full moon was high in the sky, it looked and felt as though it was daytime in the garden. Karin marveled in awe at the sheer beauty of the place. As Karin explored the garden, she noticed one of the moonflower plants was beginning to bear semi-ripe dragon fruit. Dragon fruit were ironically Karin's favourite. Realizing that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, Karin headed toward the plant reached for the ripest looking dragon fruit, but was nicked across the palm of her hand by one of the pearlescent petals that whisked at her from one of the brilliant blooms. A bloody line in her palm materialized.

"I did not give you permission to eat from my garden. You haven't earned it." Said a voice that echoed throughout the Garden.

Karin looked around her but didn't see anything. She headed back the way she came to look for the owner of the voice but was unsuccessful in her search.

"Silly girl, you won't find me over there." Said the voice.

"How am I supposed to find you if your voice is echoing everywhere?" Said Karin aloud.

The voice didn't reply.

Karin wasn't exactly sure what it was that had pulled her toward that direction, but something inside of her led her northward towards a particularly thick part of the garden. Karin pushed through the garden, careful not to let any of the thorns from the cacti prick her. Eventually Karin met a rather large clearing, and it was there that she finally laid eyes on the owner of the voice.

She was beautiful.

The owner of the voice was a regal looking woman with dark skin like Yoruichi's and flowing white hair that put Toshiro's and Ukitake's manes to shame. Her hair looked as if it was made from moonstone thread, and it shone brilliantly underneath the light of the full moon. She had vibrant amber coloured eyes that shone with intensity and conviction. The woman was wearing a beautiful white silk Furisode with onyx trimming, that exposed her midriff, and had double slits travelling all the way up to her hips. The furisode had a beautiful abstract pattern across it. The woman's outfit showed a modest amount of cleavage, and clung to her Venus-esque figure as though it had been molded onto her frame. She wore large cascading earrings, large bangles, and necklaces that were made of Onyx and moonstone. She sat on what appeared to be a throne made out of moonstone, covered in vines that had brilliant white pearlescent blooms all over them. She was every bit what Karin pictured an Amazonian warrior princess would look like: beautiful yet imposing.

The woman smiled at Karin before she spoke, her voice authoritative, yet gentle.

"You found me" She said.

"I guess I did" Said Karin.

"So you want to eat _my_ fruit?" said the woman, raising her eyebrow quizzically as she sized Karin up, as if appraising her worthiness.

"Actually, I came here for you; I only approached your dragon fruit because I thought I could get myself a snack on the way" Karin admitted.

"What is it that you wish to know?" said the woman.

"Everything. I want to know everything there is to know about you, and I want you to know everything there is to know about me. But for starters, your name would be nice. I'm Karin by the way." Said Karin.

"I know who you are. Furthermore, you haven't earned the right to know and use my name" said the women.

"What do I need to do to 'earn' the right to know your name?" Karin inquired.

"engage me in a duel" Said the woman as she ran a delicate hand through her pearly white tendrils. "If you successfully scratch me with your blade once, I'll tell you my name. Scratch me twice and depart with you one of my secrets. Scratch me thrice, and I'll let you eat my fruit." She continued.

'_That's all?'_ Karin thought. All she had to do was cut this broad three times, and she'd get a name, some fruit, and hopefully a powerful new move. This was almost too simple to be believable. There was absolutely no risk for Karin in this deal.

"However, if you fail to scratch me thrice before I fatally wound you, should you survive, you must leave this garden and never return."

'_Oh.'_ This certainly changed things. With the risk of having to cut herself off from her inner world and her spiritual growth as a Shinigami, Karin knew that her task would not be as simple as it might've sounded. Regardless, Karin knew she had to do this, and wasted no time in accepting the challenge.

"You're on. Let's do this" Karin said.

"Very well. Draw your blade, we will begin immediately." Said the woman.

The lady rose gracefully from her seat and drew her sword immediately charging after Karin. As the sword glowed a vivid white colour and white steam rolled off of the sword as it was released from the confinements of its sheath.

Karin barely had time to block the woman's attack, using her sheath to block the lady's sword. The spiritual weight of the woman's blow caused a wave of reiatsu to swirl around the two women before they both jumped back and separated. Karin mentally thanked Rukia for the ruthless Kenjutsu training that she had put her through the past 3 and a half weeks. Although it had been very rough, she had certainly improved.

Karin leapt toward the woman, sword in one hand, sheath in the next, and bombarded her with a wave of rapid slashes. The woman in turn blocked Karin's slashes with matched proficiency. After they broke apart both women surveyed each other, looking for any inkling of damage that they had caused on the other's person. A slit on the woman's cheek professed Karin's success, making Karin smile broadly at her accomplishment, lowering her sword and sheath.

"That's one. I need a name now." Karin said with a smug grin on her face.

The woman raised an eyebrow, and suddenly she appeared behind Karin, and whispered right into Karin's ear "_I am Kiyogetsu"_ then she knocked Karin out of the air and into the ground with the hilt of her sword. The force of the hit caused a sonic boom in the air that sent Karin flying straight into the meadow grass.

"You bitch! You can't just attack me while you're telling me your name, that's cheating!" Said Karin as she struggled to get up and shake off her fall.

"We never established any rules pertaining to when I can, and cannot attack you. Stop behaving so incredibly juvenile. How am I supposed to take you seriously as my _master_ if you can't even spar me without throwing a tantrum?" Kiyogetsu said, as her eyebrows rose in a condescending manner.

"I'll show you a tantrum!" Karin yelled, charging at the woman with full force.

Kiyogetsu deflected Karin's attack and pushed back with considerable force, sending Karin flying down to the ground again.

"You're much too reckless Karin. Do you think everything will come to you simply because you throw a tantrum to get it?" Said the zanpakutou spirit.

"You hardly even know me, you can't tell me about who and what I am!" Karin retorted, with rage.

"We are to halves of the same soul Karin, I know _everything_ there is to know about you." Said Kiyoguetsu flatly.

Karin shunpoed upward and headed toward Kiyogetsu at her full speed. As she approached the zanpakutou spirit she raised her sword over her head and swung down with full force. Half way down however, she switched her sword with her sheath, and allowing her sword to still maintain functionality while her sheath acted as the bearer of the blow. As expected, Kiyogetsu blocked her attack by holding her sword horizontally with both hands, kneeling on one foot to steady herself. Karin had her chance and took advantage of Kiyogetsu's compromising position and slashed at the zanpakutou spirit with all of her might, before quickly distancing herself.

Karin had successfully slashed Kiyogetsu in her rib, and her white Furisode was slightly torn and stained with her blood.

"Oi Kiyogetsu, you sure you wanna leave it at three slashes? At this rate you might end up having to teach me Bankai" Karin said as she swung her sword around.

Kiyogetsu's eyes slit dangerously low, and she rose from her kneeling position, and stood tall with severity and displeasure radiating off of her being.

"Your cockiness does not impress me Karin. I will beat humility into you before you leave my garden."

In a whirl of unbelievable speed, Kiyogetsu charged after Karin with all the deadly grace of a trained warrior. She bombarded Karin with a rapid succession of sword swings that Karin could barely keep up with. Kiyogetsu suddenly changed the direction of her slashes faster than Karin could realize to catch up with, and Karin's skin lit a fire with the white hot painful searing that seemed to come from every slash wound that Kiyogetsu made on her body. Kiyogetsu made one final slash that threw Karin in an upward motion.

As Karin was meeting the maximum height of her ascension Kiyogetsu appeared in front of her and delivered a powerful drop kick to Karin's abdominal area. Karin's eyes were widened in shock and pain as blood flew from Karin's mouth as a result of the violent kick that she had just received. Just as Karin was about to meet the ground, Karin was propelled back into the air by Kiyogetsu spin kicking and sword-slashing Karin from behind. On the way up Karin's back was shredded by Kiyogetsu's relentless slashes.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of bombardment from the searing slash of Kiyogetsu's blade, Karin finally met the ground. Karin coughed up copious amounts of blood, and struggled to breathe. Karen was covered in slashes and stab wounds. Karin lay in her own puddle of blood unmoving, and barely able to keep a grip on her sword, as Kiyogetsu landed a few meters in front of her, sheathing her sword and surveying her with an indifferent look on her face.

"How the _mighty_ have fallen Karin. Perhaps I should have kept our wager at one slash? You truly aren't worthy of mastering me or my secrets." Kiyogetsu said mockingly

Karin tried to reply, but the words she tried to form became nothing more than unintelligible gurgles, as a result of blood pooling in her mouth.

"Do you know why your brother excels as a Shinigami, while you do not?" Kiyogetsu said as she circled Karin's bleeding form

Karin didn't answer, but Kiyogetsu never expected her too, and so she continued, "Despite his stubbornness he knows _humility_. He would have never insulted his Zanpakutou the way you have thus far insulted me. And most importantly, he never allowed any _jealousy_ he experienced, to consume him and stop him from reaching his true destiny as a Shinigami."

Kiyogetsu pointed the tip of her blade at a southern part of the garden. "Do you see that diseased patch in the garden?" she asked

The part of the garden that Kiyogetsu pointed at was not as healthy or lustrous looking as the rest of the garden; The plants seemed withered and dry, as though they were bitten by frost, and the leaves of the plants were a sick yellowy-green that was ever reminiscent of the colour used to describe envy. That part of the garden seemed shrouded in darkness, rather than being illuminated in a soft brilliant light, like the rest of the garden.

Karin turned to look at the patch, and weakly nodded as she kept her bloodied sight locked on the withering growth.

"This is _your_ doing. Your envy and your unrepentant pride have caused disease to fester within this once completely pure garden. Your jealousy is consuming your soul; you have become so blinded in your quest to become better than your brother in every way possible, that you have only succeeded in slowing your own growth." Kiyogetsu said.

Kiyogetsu's words struck Karin hard, and despite her resolve, Karin could not hold back the tears. Karin began to sob, teeth clenched as the tears streamed down her face. It was _true_ and she knew it. She had a classic case of jealousy, and her pride had turned her jealousy into a personal mission to surpass her brother, and finally become equal in greatness, unwittingly at the cost of her own self. Karin hated herself at times, because she felt as though she contributed nothing to her family unit.

Her father was a talented physician whom despite his antics was certainly highly skilled in his profession. Ichigo had saved the entire world on more than one occasion, from numerous threats, and despite his absence during most of his years in highschool he had still managed to graduate with honours. There was Yuzu, who was intelligent, beautiful and talented. Yuzu was virtually everything any man could have every wanted; she had stunning features and could have easily been a swimsuit model, she was a top student in her pre-med program at University, and on top of all of her achievements, she was an amazing cook. And then there was Karin. What was she capable of? In her opinion she wasn't nearly as beautiful or talented as Yuzu, and she had time and time again been told that she had nowhere near the amount of spiritual prowess that Ichigo had. What was her purpose?

"Accept yourself Karin, and stop looking for validation through the destruction of others and ultimately yourself; the path you follow is an impure one, which I will not aid you in following by teaching you the secrets of my blade" Said Kiyogetsu sternly.

Karin's tears did not relent, and she looked up into Kiyogetsu's brilliant amber hued depths seeking some sort of sympathy, but found none.

"Perhaps you should take your brothers advice, and forget about the life of a Shinigami. Jealous, insecure Shinigami never make it far. Either they destroy themselves, or some other being ends up having to take them out of their misery" Said Kiyogetsu as she walked away from Karin's bloody form.

As Karin watched Kiyogetsu walk away from her something in Karin snapped. She realized that if she allowed Kiyogetsu to walk away from her, she would never be able to come back to her inner world, and she would never be able to overcome the jealousy she had for her brother that was eating her alive. If Karin left now, she would always live under her brothers' shadow, consequently living the rest of her life in pathetic envy of Ichigo and his accomplishments. Karin needed to validate herself, and become the appraiser of her own worth.

With this epiphany fresh in Karin's mind, Karin struggled to make it to a sitting position, and onto her feet. Her body trembled in response to the paroxysm of burning pain that coursed through her with each movement.

"Kiyogetsu I'm not finished… I can still fight" Karin said, as she struggled to her feet, wiping the blood from her mouth.

Kiyogetsu turned around, surprised. Most sensible Shinigami would have left by now having been so gravely injured, but this young woman was still standing. She had a warrior's heart, and Kiyogetsu respected that. All Kiyogetsu wanted now, was to see if Karin's walk was as strong as her talk.

"Very well Karin. I will not hold back even if you are injured" was all she said to Karin, before she charged after the young woman, keeping to her word and not showing any restraint.

The two women disappeared up into the sky, far above the white flower garden.

One powerful slash sent screeching across the sky, but Karin saved herself from another potentially fatal fall, by steeling herself on the reishi that was in the sky. Karin had no time to catch a breath, or even contemplate her next move, because as soon as she was on her feet Kiyogetsu's onslaught continued with renewed vigour.

Karin blocked Kiyogetsu's rapid barrage of attacks as best as she could, but couldn't find the opportunity to strike back with a slash of her own. Karin desperately tried to find a way to begin fighting on the offensive, but Kiyogetsu gave her no such purchase. Karin knew she couldn't keep up the rigorous speed needed to block Kiyogetsu's attacks for much longer, and tried her utmost to think of a way to finish the spar.

Finally, and idea dawned upon her; it was risky but at this point it was her only real chance to try and end the fight in her favour. Karin suddenly stopped blocking and pushed herself into Kiyogetsu's swords swing. The sword buried itself into Karin's shoulder rather deeply and she winced at the white-hot sensation that seared her flesh as the sword dug deeper into her flesh.

Karin acted fast and embraced Kiyogetsu, pulling her in as close as she possibly could to her, and in one final desperate attempt, Karin slashed Kiyogetsu in the middle of her back.

"T… That's three." Karin said as she slowly started to lose consciousness.

When Karin woke up, she found herself lying on something incredibly soft. When she looked around, she realized that she was lying on a bed of moonflower petals. Karin sat up to examine her body, and noticed that all the wounds she had sustained from her battle with her zanpakutou had disappeared.

Karin felt lighter, in the metaphorical sense; having Kiyogetsu confront her about insecurities that she never even realized she had, had taken a weight off of her chest that she didn't know she carried. She better than she had felt in years, and even though she hadn't learned any new attack or special ability from Kiyogetsu, just acknowledging and beginning to accept her weaknesses made Karin feel a thousand times stronger.

"You've awoken, finally." Said Kiyogetsu as she approached Karin. "I was beginning to think you would go into a coma as a result of blood-loss, even after I healed your wounds."

"You healed me?" Karin asked, surprised.

"It was necessary, if I did not you would have left your inner world without taking your rewards. By not getting a chance to take your reward even after besting me, you would dishonour me, and our wager." Said Kiyogetsu

"Ano… Thank you Kiyogetsu, for everything" Karin said meekly.

"You needn't thank me Karin-sama, it is my duty to guide you and direct you toward the purest path" Said Kiyogetsu

"Karin-sama?" Questioned Karin, at the sudden use of a suffix at the end of her name.

"You have proven yourself worthy of your position as my master, and subsequently worthy of such a title" Kiyogetsu said simply.

Karin nodded, not fully understanding the logic behind Kiyogetsu's decisions, but respecting them nonetheless.

"Seeing that you are now awake, I will give you your reward"

"So, you're going to teach me one of your secrets?" Karin asked, trying to mask the excitement in her voice.

"Indeed." Kiyugetsu said, as a dragon fruit materialized in her hand. Kiyugetsu threw the dragon fruit at Karin for her to catch.

Karin held the fruit in her hand awkwardly, unsure of what to do. It wasn't that she didn't want the dragon fruit. Karin _loved_ dragon fruit, but at this particular moment when she was a step away from learning her Shikai release, the last thing Karin was thinking about was food.

Kiyogetsu, sensing that Karin thought that eating the fruit wasn't important decided to explain.

"The plants in this garden represent your spiritual self, and each ripening fruit in this garden represents your gradual growth. I forbade you from eating the fruit of this garden, because within many of these fruit are the secrets to mastering the many components of fighting with my blade. I cannot allow you to learn these secrets without you proving your worthiness. The fruit you attempted to pick before meeting me was not fully ripe, and had you eaten it, you would have lost the opportunity learn the first stage of Shikai from this garden. However, after winning our wager, the fruit ripened to completion and became the fruit that you are holding within your hand. Eat the fruit Karin-sama, and allow me to teach you the first stage of my Shikai."

Rukia had awakened from Jinzen long before Karin had, and turned to look at her protégé. Karin's face had a look of intense concentration. Rukia stared at Karin in patient silence, and when the first cut materialized on Karin's open palm Rukia smiled with pride; Karin had begun her journey.

However that was several hours ago, and Rukia was beginning to become concerned, especially after she noticed that Karin seemed to be sustaining more and more injuries as time passed. She eventually alerted Urahara and Yoruichi of what was happening to Karin, and they all rushed into the underground training ground to observe Karin.

When a large number of slash wounds appeared all over Karin's chest and back, blood running profusely from each wound Rukia started to become seriously alarmed.

"Perhaps we should take her out of Jinzen, with so many large wounds Karin's vitality is at risk." She said.

"Don't be such a worry wart Rukia, this is Karin we're talking about. That girl is one of the most resilient human/Shinigami around. Besides, if we pull her out of Jinzen we will interrupt her, and stunt her spiritual growth, perhaps permanently. This is a rites of passage that all Shinigami must go through." Said Yoruichi

"Can't we at least heal her?" Said Rukia, looking for some sort of alleviant for Karin's worsening physical condition.

"Absolutely not. Healing would have the same effect as breaking Karin's Jinzen. Just leave her be." Said Urahara in response.

The group waited patiently for Karin to awaken. When tears started rolling down Karin's cheeks, and soon after a deep slash mark appeared on Karin's shoulder, and Karin's breathing appeared to stop momentarily, everyone in the group momentarily feared for Karin's life. Everyone knew that Karin did not cry; the fact that she was crying now, meant that something serious had occurred in her inner world, but they knew better than to ask her _what_ it was when she woke up. That is, _if_ she woke up. Each and every one of them stood unmoving, but silently praying to any ear willing to listen that Karin would be successful on her journey. With each passing moment, the silent anxiousness filled the entire atmosphere of the training ground, until the air became stiff with the weight of it. Rukia was near ready to get up and try waking Karin first, when all of a sudden the wounds on Karin's body began to disappear.

"Remarkable… Whatever is going on in Karin's inner world has stopped, and she appears to be undergoing rapid restoration. I've never seen that happen before in a Shinigami undergoing Jinzen." Urahara noted.

Another two hours passed before Karin finally awoke from Jinzen. As soon as Karin left her meditative state, her eyes shot open and she looked directly at Rukia, with a determined look in her eyes.

"Spar me."

Rukia nodded at Karin's request and the both women walked a fair distance from the meditation area, got into battle stance with Yoruichi and Urahara spectating.

"Are you ready Karin" Rukia said as she prepared to draw her sword

"As ready as I'll e—"

Karin was interrupted in her response by the site of a black butterfly in the basement training ground.

"Kisuke, since when do you have insects in your training ground?" Karin asked

"It's not an insect, it's a Jigokucho; in Seireitei Shinigami use them to convey messages. This one probably came from the portal with a message from the gotei 13." Urahara said as he reached out for the butterfly. Urahara stayed there for a minute, listening to the information that the butterfly was conveying to him. When he let go of the butterfly, he turned to Yoruichi and the two shared a strange look that somehow seemed to convey an unspoken message between the two of them. Urahara then turned to face Karin and Rukia.

"Karin-chan, The Soutaichou requests your immediate presence, as well as the presence of all Captain and Lieutenant level Shinigami."

Byakuya had been brooding over his altercation for far too long. It had been 3 and a half weeks, yet the Kurosaki woman still managed to haunt him, even in his dreams. If it wasn't for the fact that he despised her existence, he would have welcomed the change in his dreaming pattern that he hadn't had since Hisana's death. For over half a century, every night of Byakuya's life, he would either wake up remembering nothing, or wake up traumatized by the same dream he always had of his dying wife taking her last breaths.

However, since his unfortunate run in with the raven-haired woman, he had dreamt nothing other than dreams involving _her_. And it seemed as more time passed since their initial meeting, each dream became gradually more and more explicit in rating. The dreams went from being an exact recount of their rather unpleasant altercation, to gradually being twisted into variations with much more… _carnal_ endings. Byakuya hadn't had dreams even remotely close to this nature since he was a teenager, and the fact that it was suddenly happening at this point in his life was perplexing, unwelcome, and quite frankly disturbing. He couldn't even understand it himself; he was certainly _not_ attracted to the woman even if her physical features were admittedly… pleasant. Karin was much to brutish for his liking, and he was not the type of man who would bed a woman simply because of her looks; she would have to meet Byakuya's numerous requirements, that were exceedingly high. This was probably the reason (besides his undying loyalty to Hisana) why the number of women who had actually made it to Byakuya's bedchambers was so incredibly low, given his noble status. And Byakuya was certain that Karin would surely fall short of his requirements, if her uncontrollable temper was any indication to the type of person Karin really was.

Byakuya had spent a great deal of his time pondering the cause of these rather strange dreams, until he finally settled on a conclusion that satisfied his numerous questions, and kept his pride intact. The dreams Byakuya decided, had to have been caused by the fact that he had neglected to speak to the Soutaichou about the discovery of the Ryoka boy's spiritual adept sibling, combined with his body's natural response to … 'prolonged abstinence' he decided was an appropriate term for his lack of a love life. Byakuya decided that it was high time he spoke to the Soutaichou, and so he finished signing the last pile of paperwork he was working on and headed to the 1st Division barracks.

When Byakuya entered the Soutaichou's office, he found Yamamoto-Taichou heavily engrossed in sorting through a rather large stack of paperwork. Byakuya cleared his throat to get the Soutaichou's attention.

"Ah Kuchiki-Taicho, what brings you to my barracks this afternoon?" Said the Soutaichou

"I have some acquired information that may prove to be of some interest to you Soutaichou" Byakuya said.

Yamamoto gestured for Byakuya to take a seat, figuring that Byakuya would probably be speaking for a while. Byakuya relayed his reasons for travelling to the human world, and the events of his encounter with Karin (careful to leave out the less unbecoming portions of their altercation), and handed Yamamoto a folder filled with several papers.

"This folder contains all the recorded activities of Kurosaki's sister, since I had requested that Rukia and Urahara monitor her." Said Byakuya

"I was unaware that Kurosaki Ichigo had siblings…" Yamamoto said as he scanned through the papers, then he continued. "Another Shinigami with Kurosaki's level of potential could prove an invaluable ally to the soul society. I expect you have a perfectly reasonable explanation for withholding this information for so long, Kuchiki-Taicho?"

Byakuya, anticipating this question from the Soutaichou had already come up with a perfectly logical excuse for his negligence, and delivered his reply with the smooth unfaltering matter-of-factness that was trademark of a Kuchiki.

"I did not want to raise a false alarm amongst the Gotei 13, nor did I wish to worry you unnecessarily. In order to null my suspicions, I decided to withhold the information I had about the girl, until I could be certain that she was the primary contributing factor that was causing the alarming disparity between the data reports. By doing that I was able to find the answer to my initial concern and bring it to you, whilst informing you that Kurosaki has a spiritually active sibling" said Byakuya.

"As expected of you Kuchiki-Taicho, you have done an outstanding job. Now, back to the subject of Kurosaki Karin; how would you gauge her level of spiritual power? Is she anything like her brother?" Yamamoto asked

Byakuya was about to reply, but then he remembered the look that Karin had on her face when he had compared her to her brother, and for some reason Byakuya hadn't the resolve to do the same thing again.

"Kurosaki Karin is at a completely different level than her brother. While her powers have only recently been awakened, she possesses a great propensity to achieve heights that Seireitei is yet to see. She seems to have a noteworthy control and connection with her reiatsu, as she was allegedly able to defeat hollow whilst in her human body. I am of the opinion that in the right condition, her powers can be honed and perfected to the benefit of the Soul society." Said Byakuya, disbelieving his words as they rolled off of his tongue.

Yamamoto nodded at Byakuya's words, letting out a contemplative grunt as he folded his hands over his wooden-cane Zanpakutou.

"I will call for a meeting to be set into place immediately, All Shinigami of Fukutaicho rank or higher must be in attendance. We will seek council with Kurosaki Karin, and evaluate her potential as that of an aid to the interests of the soul society."

_**Meanwhile…**_

Meanwhile in Karakura Town, Karin had headed back home to inform her family members that she may not be back home until much later in the evening, or even days from now if things didn`t go the way she hoped it would. When she arrived home, she found Isshin missing as usual, and Yuzu lazing on the sofa, heavily engrossed in one of her pre-med textbooks. When Yuzu finally realized there was a presence watching over her, she looked up to find Karin in the living room staring at her quietly.

"Karin-neechan, what are you doing home so early, and where's Rukia-chan?" Yuzu asked curiously as she placed her bookmark in her text book and put it down.

"Ano, Rukia is out… Shopping for a new suitcase for me." Karin lied, awkwardly. Karin had always had trouble with lying to her twin. They knew each other so well that it was hard to get past the other with the use of dishonesty, but so far Yuzu had never called Karin up on it.

"Why would you need new suitcases Karin-neechan? We rarely travel" Yuzu said questioningly.

"But I might be travelling soon, that's why I need a suitcase. In fact, I'm doing some travelling today and there is a good chance of me staying the night." Karin said again.

"To where?" Yuzu asked.

"I'm not sure… It's for some Soccer thing." Karin said as she started to walk towards the step.

Karin was about to climb the stairs before she heard Yuzu call after her.

"You know neesan, you don't have to hide anything from me…" Said Yuzu softly, a twinge of hurt present in her voice.

Karin stopped on the step wide-eyed, and turned around. Karin made eye contact with her sister and for a long moment the two stared at each other, their gaze locked silence speaking volumes; Yuzu knew Karin wasn't being truthful to her, and Karin knew that she had been found out. With a simple nod, a silent agreement to discuss the matters at a later date was made between the sisters, and Karin ran back to Yuzu to give her a quick embrace, before running up the stairs.

As Karin walked down the hallway, she saw the door to Ichigo's bedroom cracked slightly open. She decided she wouldn't bother telling him anything. It wasn't as though his opinion mattered anyway she was her own woman; Karin was going to soul society and there was nothing he could do to change that. Besides, the two siblings hadn't spoken since their altercation 3 weeks ago. Whether by coincidence or by design Ichigo had never been at home during the hours that Karin was home, and Karin felt too uncomfortable to bring it up after such a long duration of time had passed since their initial argument. Karin wasn't comfortable with the current status of their brother-sister relationship either, but she felt as though it was something that couldn't be helped at all. Dismissing the thought of stopping to tell her brother she'd be gone for a day or so Karin continued walking down the hall, until the voice of her zanpakutou thundered through her head, causing a reverberation so intense that Karin knew it would be the cause of any migraine she developed later in the day.

'_The high-road is often the purest, Karin-sama" _Said Kiyogetsu in protest to Karin attempting to walk past her brother's door.

"_Why should I go to him first? He should come to me! I didn't do anything to offend him" Said Karin stubbornly_

"_On the contrary Karin-sama, you did offend him, quite brutally so; you told your brother that you did not appreciate the fact that he wishes to protect you, and you chased him away from you with words that cut more deeply than any blade ever wielded against him. Can you not see it? He avoids you because he is ashamed. He is ashamed of the fact that he has given so much to protect you who he views as precious, only to be told that his efforts are unwanted and unneeded. He knows he cannot remain your protector forever, and that it was only a matter of time before you were able to protect yourself. But for Ichigo, knowing that you are also aware of the fact that you are becoming independent of his protection is what is more frightening than anything to him." Said Kiyogetsu_

Karin had not thought of her argument with her brother from that perspective before. It bothered her that she had neglected to see their quarrel from a more universal view. Her ignorance was irritating to her, and she felt stupid for allowing their disagreement to stretch on as long as it did, when the situation really didn't call for all of the melodrama that had ensued. Karin was hit with a pang of guilt; her brother was avoiding her and questioning his own ability as a protector, because of what she had done. Karin felt less than kind, and really began to regret the words she spat at her brother so hatefully.

"_I didn't realize…" Karin said to her zanpakutou spirit. As she outwardly face palmed at her pettiness._

"_He was wrong in his approach Karin-sama, but try and understand his plight. He lives to protect those whom he views as precious, and he has trouble grasping the idea of being unable to do so." Said Kiyogetsu._

Despite feeling as though the whole initiation of conversation was going to be nothing short of troublesome, Karin could knew that what Kiyogetsu said was right. It wasn't that she was not sorry, but Karin wasn't especially confrontational when it came to dealing with her siblings or her father; while some may misconstrue it as being cowardly, avoiding unnecessary confrontation was in Karin's opinion the most logical way to deal with _certain_ problems. It was much more efficient and less energy draining if she didn't have to go about talking over her feelings with her family members. She didn't want to burden them unnecessarily. But ultimately, Karin didn't want her and her brother's relationship to remain the way it currently was. It would only be a matter of time before Yuzu picked up on it, and she didn't want her twin stressing unnecessarily over her and Ichigo's troubles.

With that conclusion in mind, Karin strode purposefully to her Aniki's room, and pushed the door open further, forgetting to knock. When she opened the door, she found Rukia in her Shinigami form, and Ichigo standing by the window, and holding each other in a rather intimate embrace. Rukia reached up and gave Ichigo a quick, chaste kiss before jumping out of the window, and presumably heading back to Urahara's.

'_Poor Orihime' _thought Karin as she quietly observed the newly discovered 'couple'. She could only imagine the fake smile of happiness that would poorly mask the hurt that Orihime would feel upon learning about this new development in Ichigo and Rukia's relationship, and could already hear the overly enthusiastic 'Omedetou gozaimasu' that Orihime would repeat like a mantra. Suddenly, Ichigo turned around and faced Karin, with an expression of initial surprise and changing into something akin to the expression of a man who had just been spurned. Quite frankly, Ichigo like a shunned puppy, who had been caught peeing on the rug.

"Karin…" he began, but stopped, unable to find words to say to his sister.

A moment of silence passed before Karin decided to break the silence.

"I'm sorry about the other day… Those things I said, I was just upset" she said, looking away from Ichigo as she spoke.

"You're sorry?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly.

"That's what I said" Karin replied, keeping any of her natural sarcasm from being present in her voice, at the advice of Kiyogetsu.

"I should be the sorry one, I started yelling at you and started doubting your ability before actually listening to what you were saying." Ichigo said as he rubbed the back of his neck, a sincere sense of regret present in his voice.

Ichigo walked over to his sister, and held her close to him as he spoke. "I just don't want you to be hurt Karin; I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you... I don't want to see what happened to Okaasan, happen to you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself Karin, I just wouldn't." Ichigo said, his voice sounding heavy with emotion. Karin hugged her brother in return, and the two shared a rare moment. Neither could remember the last time they had ever hugged each other; both Kurosaki's were not especially keen on outwardly expressing their feelings, and hugs were definitely way too expressive for their liking.

After a moment, the two broke apart from their embrace, and stood in place for a moment. When Karin didn't leave immediately after, like he had expected her to, Ichigo realized she must have had something else to tell him. Willing himself to remain calm for whatever bombshell Karin was prepared to drop on him (since she never dropped by his room to tell him anything that wasn't of earth-shattering importance), Ichigo against his better judgement decided to ask about Karin's secondary purpose for being there.

"Is there anything else you came to talk about Karin?" He asked.

The look on her face said everything. He probably wouldn't be pleased about what she was going to say.

"I'm going to be gone for a day or so, maybe even longer if things don't work out the way I plan" Karin said.

"Gone where, and why?" Ichigo asked, curiously wondering if what she was doing had anything that Rukia was up to. Rukia had told him the exact same thing just moments ago, and he couldn't help but be suspicious.

Karin knew that it would be completely illogical for her to lie to her brother, given the fact that their previous argument had to do with her neglecting to be honest with him, and also the fact that he'd probably find out anyway. Besides she was going to the soul society, and someone from there was bound to recognize her last name and relation to Ichigo, and he'd more than likely hear back from them. She didn't feel like enduring another episode of Ichigo's rage.

"I'm going to the soul society because I was summoned by the Soutaichou" She said flatly.

"N-nani? the Soutaichou! Why?" Ichigo asked, extremely surprised at Karin's answer.

"I'm not even sure myself; all I know is that my presence is requested immediately, and according to Rukia, the Soutaichou isn't keen on rainchecks." Karin replied.

"I'm going with you." Ichigo said as he searched around for his badge.

"You can't! Someone has to stay, we can't leave Yuzu all by herself!" Karin retorted

"well then, we'll bring her too. But there's not a chance in hell that I'm letting you go to Seireitei without me being there with you. I want to know why Yama-jiisan has taken a sudden interest in my family." Ichigo said as he found his substitute Shinigami badge, and ejected himself from his body.

Ichigo quickly grabbed a piece of parchment paper, and scribbled rapidly on the paper, making a note to leave for their father, explaining their absence. Without warning Ichigo grabbed Karin by the wrist and dragged her back down stairs. When the two arrived downstairs they found Yuzu in the same spot Karin had left her, still busying herself with her pre-med studies. Yuzu didn't even have time to protest before she had been picked up suddenly by her brother and carried off at an incredible speed.

When the Kurosaki siblings arrived at Urahara's candy shop, they found Yoruichi, Urahara, and Rukia waiting impatiently.

"Where have you been Karin? We've wasted too much time! The Soutaichou is not impressed by tardiness!" Rukia said anxiously, slightly afraid of the repercussions of showing up late for a meeting where immediate presence was explicitly demanded.

Karin, not sharing the same fears or concern for being especially late, shrugged off Rukia's anxiety.

"I had to bring my luggage" she said, pointing at Ichigo and Yuzu.

"We can't bring them, it wouldn't make any sense! Soutaichou-sama asked for you explicitly, not all of the members of your family!" Rukia protested, still sounding rather anxious about leaving so late for a first priority meeting.

"The hell we can't. I'm not letting Karin go in there by herself Rukia. We're a family." Ichigo said defiantly.

Rukia wanted to protest, but Yoruichi put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"This may actually work out to be more efficient in the end Rukia; If the Soutaichou is interested in Karin, he may just as well be interested in her twin. And the Soutaichou is no fool; It's a given that Ichigo would come. In essence we may just end up saving ourselves the time of having to go back and retrieve Yuzu."

Yoruichi's deduction made perfect sense, and Rukia couldn't help but concede that the Shunpo master was indeed correct.

The group made its way into the candy shop, and headed towards Urahara's Senkaimon. Karin quickly expelled herself from her human body, and laid it in the closet full of gigai before returning to the rest of the group. As she returned she saw the Senkaimon opening widely, and the rest of her companions awaiting her return.

Ichigo stepped through the senkaimon first, and everyone (with the exception of Yuzu and Karin) remembering Ichigo's poor reiatsu control, and the fragmented nature of his reishi platforms inwardly groaned. As soon as he started running, the path he made was nearly impossible to look at, let alone to run on. There were cracks and shards missing in his platforms, and some parts even appeared to be twisted and lopsided. However, Ichigo seemed to be the only one who didn't notice the fact that his reishi platforms were almost completely unsuitable for anyone to walk on.

'_Oh joy'_ thought Karin sardonically as she stepped through the Senkaimon.

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_Reviewer Response time!_

_ByEvelyn__ Thankyou! Im glad you enjoyed the chapter, and yes YoruHara is adorable 3 I'm actually thinking about writing a Spinoff for them later on_

_Yuki-chan and Kuro-kun__ Thanks for reviewing!_

_Blue Letters : Awwe Thankyou so much!_

_Nom__ I can totally agree that what Karin said to her brother last chapter was totally disrespectful and rude, but her reactions were intentional. However, I have to disagree about Karin coming off as bratty the entire story. Perhaps I view her differently because I'm writing her, but in my opinion, the only 'bratty' thing Karin has really done this whole story was tell her brother off so hurtfully. I purposefully didn't write Karin feeling regret for her actions with her brother in the last chapter, so that there would be leeway for Kiyogetsu to get to council and correct her in this chapter. I would never do injustice to Karin's character by making her appear only hot-headed, while forgetting the fact that Karin is indeed quite perceptive. While her behaviour towards her brother in the last chapter, and her refusal to be anything like Ichigo may come off as her being 'bratty', I wrote Karin like that intentionally. I didn't want her to become a Mary-Sue type character who was respectful, badass, intelligent, and all powerful simultaneously. Characters like that are boring to read, and even worse to write. Karin's behaviour isn't entirely a result of being spoilt, but Karin despite her hard exterior, is a hurting person. Thankyou for reviewing though, I appreciate you sharing your opinion with me._

_bfat81 __Karin will __definitely__not__ turn into a goody twoshoes. Goody-twoshoes characters are almost as bad as Mary-Sue's. Hell, they're practically the same thing. I won't have Karin submitting to Byakuya, it would be completely OOC. That would undermine the entire premise of this story, which is the two of them being attracted to eachother, but not being able to stand each other. (Although there will be chapters later on, focusing on other pairings' romantic developments). Karin is a lot craftier than she may let on, and just because she agreed to writing a letter, doesn't mean it has to be the same time of letter that Rukia has in mind. Also, Rukia needed to become Karin's sensei, because in order to have a smoother story transition, the two women would have to have some sort of relationship development._

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**A/N: **

**I hope everyone enjoyed Karin's Zanpakutou's introduction, and the little glimpse I gave you of Karin's inner world.**

**Karin's zanpakutou is a little special, although I did not explicitly reveal her Zanpakutou's abilities in this chapter, the effect that Kiyogetsu's blade had on Karin should give you guys a little hint **partly** as to what her abilities may include.**

**Kiyogetsu's name is also a bit interesting. I chose the "getsu" ending, to go with the Kurosaki trend of having Zanpakutou that are all moon-related (Isshin's Engetsu, Ichigo's Zangetsu etc..) Karin's zanpakutou's name is translated loosely as meaning "Pure Moon". Notice how Kiyogetsu makes reference to purity often, using the word "pure" almost synonymously with justice and righteousness?**

**Karin's inner world also reflects the theme of purity; Her inner world is that of a pristine garden, and ALL of the species of plants that were identified in the chapter either had White blossoms/flowers (Dragonfruit blossoms are white), or were completely white (Ghostplant is a completely white plant, with absolutely not chlorophyll).**

**Karin's character was also given a new dimension in this chapter. Which I hope I wrote well enough for my readers to see. I wanted to expand on Karin's character in this story; Karin isn't all rough, and tough. She can sensitive, and things do hurt her, especially when there isn't anything she can do to change her situation.**

**I will probably get this question a lot in inboxes, so I will answer it for you here: Can Yuzu see spirits clearly now? How did she Know it was Ichigo carrying her? Will she be able to see the Captains? Will she get Powers? Will she be paired with anyone during the course of the Series? Etc..**

**Yes, in my FF Yuzu can clearly see Spirits. With the Kurosaki siblings, they are all constantly growing spiritually, but just at different rates. Yuzu has improved drastically in the last couple of years, from barely being able to sense spiritual presences, to being slightly above the level that Karin was at when she was 11. It's a logical progression if you consider the fact that she is also spiritually aware, but just grows a bit slower than Karin, and a lot slower than Ichigo. Whether or not she will develop powers is something you will have to see in later chapters. And as for pairings, I'll get to that one later.**

**Thankyou all for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Chapter 5 Preview:**

"_Well ain't that a bastard. The sissy prince is tryna keep us on good behaviour so we can impress his little lady friend? That's rich!" roared Kenpachi with laughter._

_Byakuya was about to retort when the Soutaichou interjected._

"_Enough!" he said, knocking his cane on the floor, flaring his immensely overpowering reiatsu for a fraction of a second in order to emphasize his command._

"_I can sense them approaching." He said, and then continued, "And furthermore Zaraki-Taicho, Kuchiki-Taicho proves a valid point; we must conduct ourselves in a stately manner, to ensure that the Gotei 13 retains the respect and loyalty that it deserves from the impressionable mind of Kurosaki-san"_


	5. Chapter 5: Captain's Orders

**A/N: A huge thanks to all of my wonderful readers. I really loved reading every last one of your reviews. I was really glad that you all liked the last chapter. I almost didn't think I'd be able to make it to post this week's chapter, but I did my utmost to make sure it was ready for posting today.**

**I was absolutely floored by the positive response that I received from my reviewers. Reviews like the ones I've been receiving since I've started writing this FF are the driving force behind my continued writing. I was so excited that people have been enjoying the progression of this story, that I made this chapter EXTRA long. This chapter has an over 10,300 word count; the longest chapter to date. It's got a lot of detail, and I put a ton of effort into writing it. It was written in a bit of a rush though, and I wasn't able to proofread it as properly as I would have liked to, so I apologize in forward for any spelling/grammatical errors you may come across.**

**All of my reviewer responses are at the end of the chapter. You can scroll down to read it now, or you can wait till after you've finished reading this chapter.**

**P.S. as of this chapter, this Fanfic is over 70 pages long! Thank you all for keeping me going!**

**I DO NOT OWN BLEACH**

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_Important terms:_

_Sakkat = A straw hat (The one that Shunsui wears)_

_Onaka ga suite imasen ka? = Aren't you hungry?_

_Amanattō = Candied beans_

_Bunshin = Clone_

_Hakama = (in this case) The pants portion of Shinigami robes._

_Gomen'nasai = Sorry (formal way of apologizing)_

_Yonbantai = Fouth division_

* * *

Byakuya stood in his spot in the meeting room, growing more impatient with each passing minute. Byakuya was a man of impeccable punctuality; he had never made anyone wait on him, because he felt it was unacceptably below him to disregard dates and times. So standing in a meeting room, awaiting the arrival of the Ryoka boy's sister for over 2 hours, was nothing short of irksome to the young noble. Byakuya had also noticed that Rukia too, was also rather unusually late. Under normal circumstances he would have reprimanded her after the meeting about her tardiness, but he knew that his sister had certainly learned the ways of the Kuchiki well. It was most probable that Rukia's tardiness was a direct result of the Kurosaki female's negligence; being the responsible Shinigami that Byakuya had ensured she had grown up to be, Rukia had probably stayed behind to make sure that Karin's travel through the Senkaimon was a safe one, unwittingly bastardizing her impeccable punctuality in the process.

Byakuya resisted the urge to grind his teeth out of frustration; in some way shape or form, the Kurosaki woman had somehow managed to root herself in the middle of anything that Byakuya found unpleasant.

"Yama-jii, are you sure she's coming at all? We've been waiting here for quite a long time and we haven't even gotten a Jigokucho back from Urahara-san informing us of her impending arrival" Said Shunsui tiredly as he adjusted his sakkat on his head.

"Yamamoto-Sensei, I must agree with Kyoraku-Taicho. I mean, for all we know the young lady may not even be in the region anymore." Said Jushiro in agreement.

The Soutaichou grunted in irritation. "Urahara will not ignore the summons of the Soutaichou. The girl will come." He said.

"She'd better come old man. Tch, the only reason I came here anyway was 'cause I wanna see if I wanna rip her to shreds just as badly as I wanna kill her brother." Said Kenpachi, grinning wildly.

"Do not address the Soutaichou so callously Zaraki-Taicho. Your insolence is unbecoming of your rank" said Byakuya, with only the slightest amount of annoyance being present in his voice.

"I ne'er heard ya' bitchin' about the way I talk to the old man before, so why're ya' getting' all snappy fer now?" Said Kenpachi quizzically.

"It would be most contemptible for such behaviour to be displayed within the presence of the Kurosaki woman. If she were to see Taichou's referring to their superior with such a gross lack of respect, it would only be natural that she would in turn not respect our organization at the level at which she should" was Byakuya's reply.

"Well ain't that a bastard. The sissy prince is tryna keep us on good behaviour so we can impress his little lady friend? That's rich!" roared Kenpachi with laughter.

Byakuya was about to retort when the Soutaichou interjected.

"Enough!" he said, knocking his cane on the floor and flaring his immensely overpowering reiatsu for a fraction of a second, in order to emphasize his command.

"I can sense them approaching." He said, and then continued, "And furthermore, Zaraki-Taicho, Kuchiki-Taicho proves a valid point; we must conduct ourselves in a stately manner, to ensure that the gotei 13 retains the respect and loyalty that it deserves from the impressionable mind of the young Kurosaki"

"hn." Said Kenpachi indignantly

Mere seconds after Yamamoto had finished speaking, a senkaimon gate began to form in the meeting room. The first person to step out of the gate was Ichigo, followed by Yoruichi and Yuzu, and lastly Urahara, who had Karin hanging on to him for dear life.

"I swear to Kami Ichigo, next time Yoruichi leads!" Karin yelled at her brother.

"It wasn't that bad Karin, stop complaining! There weren't even that many cracks in my Reishi platforms this time!" Ichigo replied.

"Damn right there weren't any cracks, those were craters! It's a good thing I'm nimble or I'd have been dead as a motherfu—" realization that she had an audience hit Karin like a ton of bricks.

An awkward silence overtook the entire meeting room, and Karin did notice a few Taichou who looked like they were trying not to laugh, namely one with a pink Kimono over his shoulders and another with jaw length blonde hair. A Taichou with long white hair lightly smiled at her in an attempt to make her feel less awkward, but his efforts only worked in the reverse way. Karin tried her best to compose herself and show at least some manners. Just because she was a woman who freely spoke her mind, didn`t mean she wasn`t raised learning some semblance of etiquette.

Karin thought she was doing well until her eyes rested on the Taicho who had inevitably been the cause of all of her grief the past 3 and a half weeks; Kuchiki Byakuya. Byakuya had stared right back at her, his expression aloof and arrogant, as if it was the first time he had ever seen her. Karin was slightly offended by the Kuchiki noble's demeanour; she didn't expect him to run up to her with open arms, but he could have at least acknowledged her. Karin felt a migraine coming on. She really hoped that all the Haori wearing men and women in the room weren`t as pompous and self-important as Byakuya, or she'd be in for a very long, very unpleasant meeting.

"When I requested the immediate presence of Kurosaki Karin, I didn't expect an entourage to accompany her. Young lady, I assume you, are the Kurosaki Karin that is the reason behind this meeting?" Said the Soutaichou, his scrutinizing gaze settled unmistakeably on Karin.

"Ano, yes that's me Soutaichou-sama" Said Karin, making sure to address the older man with the appropriate titles. It was a poor attempt at salvaging her image, but she made one at least, she thought.

The Soutaichou cast his gaze over to Yuzu who was standing nervously beside Yoruichi

"Shihouin, why have you allowed a _human_ girl to accompany the Kurosaki girl? Soul Society law explicitly states that only authorized humans are allowed to enter the world, under strict stipulation"

"This is not just any human girl Soutaichou-sama, this is Karin's twin. We allowed her to accompany Karin because we imagined that if you showed interest in Karin, it would be only natural that you would be interested in seeing her twin"

Yamamoto grunted in approval, "your foresight is appreciated Shihouin, Urahara. After the Gotei 13 has finished their evaluation of Kurosaki Karin, we will address her sibling" said Yamamoto as he returned his attentions back to Karin.

"Do you know the reason that you are here for?" Asked the Soutaichou

"I am not actually sure of what I'm here for in all honesty Soutaichou-Sama. I only came because you summoned me, and it would be rude to ignore a summons from the Soutaichou" replied Karin.

"You have been summoned to stand before the Gotei 13 because we have learned of your spiritual talent, and we wish to evaluate your skills." Said the Soutaichou.

So it was like a test wasn't it? Karin wasn't sure how to take this; on the one hand she was glad that a group as powerful as the gotei 13 was interested in her skills, but on the other hand, she wasn't quite sure that having so many people interested in her skills. She was still learning, and she wouldn't want to underwhelm a room full of captains by telling them that she wasn't a master of Bankai like her brother, and consequentially not nearly as strong. Regardless, she refused to show weakness in front of the Captains, especially not that pompous asshole whose eyes were now focused on her in an almost intimidating glare. She decided to agree to being evaluated (she didn't think she had much choice in it anyway), but casually inform her crowd that they may not get the same show that they had probably gotten from her brother all these years.

"I suppose I could do that, I have to warn you though, I'm still a bit new to this, so my performance may not live up to any preconceived standards that you might've set for me" she said earnestly.

Karin was inadvertently feeling slightly less confident than she should have, but she hardened her resolve, and remained before the Soutaichou with all the confidence she could muster, awaiting his reply.

"Regardless of your inexperience, I have heard many great things of your abilities from Kuchiki-Taicho. He has praised your abilities claiming that they are on a level of their own and sees great potential in your skills. Kuchiki-Taicho is not known to exaggerate, and therefore I am certain that your skill will live up to expectations."

If Karin didn't know any better she would have sworn that the elderly man standing in front of her was going senile. Kuchiki Byakuya complimented her? Karin was barely able to keep her jaw from hitting the floor in utter shock. She stole a glance at Byakuya, and noticed that he didn't make any move to protest or correct the Soutaichou, nor did his face give away any hint of surprise. It seemed to her that the Soutaichou had not been imagining things. Karin's only problem now, was figuring out how she was going to pull this evaluation thing off, while still managing to keep from disappointing the Soutaichou.

Byakuya nearly lost his balance.

If it wasn't for years of being reprimanded by the elders for showing his emotions externally, it was possible that he would have been asked to excuse himself from the meeting until he regained his composure. How could the Soutaichou bastardize his words so severely, and so effortlessly! He did _not_ praise the brutish Kurosaki whatsoever! This was blatant fabrication! He may have been merciful in his description of her skill level, but he had certainly not _praised_ her to the extent at which the Soutaichou had implied. Now Byakuya's integrity was at risk; if Karin underperformed his notoriety as an impeccable judge of skill and character would most certainly be tainted. If he had any less control over his body, or his control less refined, he would have cursed obscenities out loud.

The Soutaichou knocked his cane on the ground, regaining the attention of all in attendance.

"Kurosaki Karin, your evaluation will begin immediately. All of your skillsets will be evaluated in the form of a duel against one of the members of the 11th Division, Taichou and Fukutaichou excluded, of course. All Taichou's and Fukutaichou's must be present during the evaluation. Meeting adjourned."

All of the captains and lieutenants began filing out of the meeting room, some smiling at her, others scowling, and the rest ignoring her existence all together. Karin tried her best to will her nerves into submission, and forced herself to relax and focus on the task at hand. As she turned to walk out and follow the crowd, a cold hand patted her on the shoulder in a heartfelt form of non-verbal greeting greeting.

Karin turned around, and she beamed brightly as her eyes rested on the owner of the hand."Toshiro!" she said, smiling at her old companion; it had been so long since the last time she had seen him. His hair was slightly longer, but still styled in the spiky fashion that he always kept it in, and he had certainly grown some, now towering over she who stood all of 5"3. But he was nevertheless the same unmistakeable young man that had quickly become one of her closest friends, even though they rarely saw one another.

"It's Hitsugaya-Taicho" he corrected her as she fell in step with him. "I am surprised Karin, in only a few short years you have managed to garner the attention of the Soutaichou. How have you been?" he asked.

Karin shrugged. "I've been doing well considering the circumstances, how about you _Hitsugaya-Taichou_?" she said, rolling her eyes as she called him by his appropriate title.

"I have been well" Said Toshiro, pausing for a moment before he spoke again. "Yuzu-san has accompanied you to Seireitei... Is she well?"

Karin chuckled at Toshiro's question heartily before she spoke, "You haven't changed at all; you've always asked Yuzu how she was, by asking through me, even all those years ago. If you're so interested in her wellbeing, why don't you go and ask her yourself?"

"I am not interested in your sister Karin, I am making light conversation for the sake of cordiality. It is customary to inquire the wellbeing of the family members of one's conversational companion" Said Toshiro, ravenously denying any vested interest he had in Yuzu.

Karin rolled her eyes at her companion's evasiveness. "Which _clearly_ explains why you also asked me about the wellbeing of Ichigo and my father?" Said Karin sardonically.

Toshiro stopped walking, and turned his back to Karin. "We should hurry. Most of the other Taicho's and Fukutaicho's have already reached the 11th Division fighting grounds." He said before grabbing Karin's wrist and launching into an unnecessarily swift bout of Shunpo.

Karin couldn't help but burst into laughter as Toshiro whisked her away, childishly avoiding the subject.

When they reached the 11th division sparring grounds, Karin saw that most of the Captains and Lieutenants had indeed arrived, and were accompanied by a crowd that composed of most of the 11th divisions members both seated and unseated. The swarm of Shinigami formed a circle around a large flattened dirt surface that reminded Karin of a baseball field.

Toshiro loosened his grip on Karin's wrist, and proceeded to walk toward the direction of the other Taicho's, without so much as saying a word to her. Karin stared at Toshiro's retreating form and smiled at his childishness. Even though he had certainly grown over the years, he was still as socially awkward as ever, when it came to matters that weren't related to his duty as a Shinigami.

Ever since the first time Toshiro had ever come to Karin's house, he had been enchanted by Yuzu's charm, and Karin couldn't blame him, Yuzu was gorgeous. What she could blame him for however, was the fact that he and Yuzu had no basis for a relationship to be built upon whatsoever. Karin could count on one hand the amount of times Yuzu and Toshiro had had a meaningful conversation, which stemmed beyond the usual greetings, or the 'Onaka ga suite imasen ka?' that Yuzu would ask ever so often, making sure that Toshiro never left their house hungry.

Karin thought that the two would be an adorable couple, especially since their personalities meshed so well together. Toshiro liked to protect, and Yuzu liked the feeling of security that came from people wanting to protect her, even though she didn't always need to be protected. Deciding that the matter should be pressed further, Karin to catch up to the prodigious Taichou, and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. Toshiro turned around and gave Karin a curiously look which Karin matched with a mischievous gaze, as she leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"_Talk _to her baka. If you want I can put in a good word for you, she's my sister, she trusts my judgement. Oh and by the way, Yuzu makes _really_ good Amanattō"

Despite himself, Toshiro couldn't help but flush a deep red color. Karin pulled back from Toshiro's ear, giggling at his flushed cheeks, and reached up to ruffle his hair.

"You really haven't changed at all, _Shiro-chan_"

"It's Hitsugaya-Taichou" Replied Toshiro with a serious tone, but the glimmer in his eyes told Karin that he really did appreciate the fact that Karin supported him. Karin fell in step with Toshiro as he walked towards the portion of the circle that the higher ranking Shinigami had occupied. Karin stood beside Toshiro, waiting for the Soutaichou to give her an order.

Byakuya was so caught up in his own musings that he hadn't noticed Karin's reiatsu approaching the 11th division battle grounds. His attentions were brought to her arrival when he heard her voice carrying over the field, in the form of laughter that was distinct from the masculine racket that was coming from the 11th squad members. Her voice had a smooth and airy consistency when she laughed, that almost made it hard to believe that such a laugh could belong to such a violent woman.

When Byakuya casually cast his gaze over in her direction he saw Karin and Hitsugaya-Taicho landing together a fair distance away from the part of the circle that the Taicho's occupied. His eyes immediately went to Hitsugaya's hand, which was rather _comfortably_ encircling Karin's wrist. Byakuya watched discreetly as the two interacted. Hitsugaya-Taicho loosened his grip on Karin's wrist, and began to walk away from Karin, seemingly irritated.

''_how curious; it appears as though I am not the only one who has grown to dislike the Ryoka boy's sister's antics" _thought Byakuya as he observed the two. However, Byakuya started to doubt that was the case as he continued to watch the two Shinigami interact.

Karin ran to catch up to Toshiro, grabbing his arm and pulling him _closer_ to her. She put her hand on his shoulder, and _leaned_ in…

Byakuya couldn't tell what Karin was doing, because her face disappeared behind the side of Toshiro's face that was out of view, but from the looks of things, he had a _good idea_ of what she was up to. Karin stayed there for a moment, hand still rested on Toshiro's shoulder. Toshiro suddenly blushed wildly as Karin pulled back, and she reached up and ruffled Toshiro's hair affectionately, giggling _femininely_. Toshiro pulled away from Karin's hand's reach as if he didn't want the attention, but from the glint in his eye, as he looked away from Karin, hinted that he wasn't all that upset at the attention he was getting from the young woman. The two began to walk towards the group of Taichou, and Karin took a spot, standing beside Toshiro, rather than her siblings like he would have expected her too.

Byakuya forced himself to rip his eyes away from the two Shinigami, lest they discover him staring. For some reason, Byakuya couldn't help but be unnaturally curious as to the nature of the relationship between Toshiro and Karin. Byakuya wasn't even aware of the fact that the two were familiar with each other before this moment. Their interaction unsettled Byakuya, and he sincerely hoped that he had the implications of their interactions were simply misconstrued on his part.

Byakuya reasoned however, that his being unsettled was _simply_ because he was looking out for Hitsugaya-Taichou's best interests. The prodigious young Taichou was the most likely candidate for the position as new Soutaichou if his rapid spiritual growth was anything to go by, and a young woman like Karin would only distract him. The girl was obviously below his standards, and chances are he had never seen the ugly side of Karin that Byakuya had. If Byakuya could barely control his temper around her, then chances are the quick-to-anger young Taichou would never be able to survive being involved with the Kurosaki She-brute. Karin was antagonistic and cantankerous, only a man with nerves of steel could deal with a woman like Karin. They would be a terrible match, and would most likely be the cause of an increased amount of funds going towards property repairs, when their arguments began to turn violent. Of course Byakuya wouldn't expect Hitsugaya-Taichou to physically harm the Karin, but an untameable woman like Karin certainly wouldn't hesitate to bring the use of force into an argument. Hitsugaya-Taichou would only escalate any problems the couple might have had because of his equally fiery temper. Karin needed a man with a more matured outlook, and impeccable control over his emotions that complimented and moderated her overtly expressive nature. Hitsugaya-Taichou was certainly not that man. And then there was their children, if they would have any; though they would certainly be exceptionally powerful, with a reckless woman like Karin for a mother they would almost definitely turn out –

Byakuya killed his thought processes in their tracks. He realized that he had gotten way too into thinking about the affairs of Karin and Toshiro then he would have liked to. Byakuya had been so engrossed in his mini-epilogue of Karin and Toshiro's future, that he completely missed what had been going on right before his eyes.

The sheer size of the crowd was a bit intimidating, and Karin could feel her pulse quicken at the mere thought of sparring _in front_ of so many people, who were all expecting so much from her. She looked a couple of people down from where she was standing, and saw Yuzu and Ichigo looking at her with equally concerned stares. Karin flashed them a thumbs up, and smiled at them doing her best to cover up her nervousness. Toshiro patted Karin comfortingly on the shoulder, in an encouraging gesture.

"Zaraki-Taicho, have you chosen a suitable opponent for Kurosaki Karin?" Said the Soutaichou impatiently.

"Quit pressurin' me I'm lookin' fer one" Said Kenpachi as he surveyed the large crowd looking for a match he deemed appropriate for Karin.

Kenpachi wasn't half as dedicated to the task of finding Karin a worthy opponent as he should have, and it wasn't just because he didn't care. Personally Kenpachi wanted to fight the girl himself. He was terrible at sensing reiatsu but he could feel that there was something strangely enthralling about her spiritual aura. It was like a _sweeter_ version of her brother's reiatsu. He wanted to see if Karin was worth all the fuss of organizing a Fukutaicho and above rank meeting. Unfortunately, because it would be '_most contem… whatever'_ for a captain to go about fighting scrawny human girls -Shinigami powers or not- the Taichou's were not to actively participate in the physical portion of Karin's evaluation, and were instead given the exclusive task of observing.

"_Che!"_ said Kenpachi as he spat, irritated. He would have never bothered killing that _other_ bastard for his spot if he knew a Taicho's job mostly involved looking prissy and letting subordinates have all the fun. Zaraki was a man of battle, not a spectator. Zaraki grabbed Karin by the elbow and dragged her into the middle of the crowd that had formed something like a ring around part of the battleground. Karin tried to wriggle her hand out of the larger man's grip, but his large hands were much too formidable a force for her to deal with.

"What the hell are you dragging me for!" Yelled Karin in protest.

Kenpachi did not so much as acknowledge Karin's protests, proceeding with whatever it was he intended to do. Kenpachi looked out into the crowd and spoke, his rough voice booming through the air, demanding the silence and the full attention of his subordinates

"Oi, which one of ya' bastards wants ta take on this little shrimp over here!" He said, pushing Karin in front of him

At first Karin just hoped that all the Taichou's wouldn't end up being like Byakuya, but she had never expected a complete savage like Zaraki to be the alternative!

"Who the hell are you calling a shrimp, you little fuck!" retorted Karin angrily, although she realized that calling a man who stood nearly 7ft tall _'little'_ was probably not the most intelligent thing to do.

"Who the hell are ya' callin' little when I ain't little? I'm callin' _ya'_ shrimp, 'cause yer a shrimpy broad." said Zaraki as he straightened up, standing at his full height, dwarfing Karin in terms of both height and size.

"Well I can assure you that I'm no shrimp! I mean, which part of me is _'shrimpy'_ anyway!" Said Karin as the stared up defiantly at Kenpachi, hands folded across her ample chest. Karin may not have been as full figured as Orihime or Yuzu, but she was certain that she was _woman_ enough. She was more toned and muscular than both women because of her status as an athlete, but that didn`t mean that she was any less of a woman.

In the midst of her verbal showdown with Kenpachi, Karin heard a voice from the crowd calling out to her,

"Hey Wench! If you strip right now I'll tell ya if you got any shrimpy parts!" yelled the man perversely.

A roar of laughter erupted from the portion of the crowd that the man occupied, his companions slapping him on the back in encouragement, applauding him for being the one to throw the first insult at Karin. Karin's temper flared dangerously, and she could literally feel the anger radiating off of her in waves. How dare he! It was hard enough for her to be out in the middle of a large crowd of people whose only reason for being here was to judge her and her skill level, but being taunted on top of all of that was way too much for Karin to handle.

Kiyogetsu's voice boomed in her head, her words and the quality of her voice mirroring the feelings that were surging through Karin's entire being,

"_Does he know not respect? He is not worthy of our mercy. Go, Now, Karin-sama. Duel that unsightly oaf and instill within his very core the virtue of humility. My powers are with you; show him that your blade cuts the purest path!"_

With that, Karin marched over to the man who had spat the perverse remark at her, and went up as close to him as she possibly could. The man was much taller than her, and much, much larger. He was more bulky than muscular, but still appeared as though he was more than capable of causing serious damage with his fists. He had no hair on his head to speak of, and wore a large amount of gold jewellery on his wrists and fingers, as well as a very thick gold chain that rested around his neck.

"You're the one I'm fighting" she said lowly, eyes slit dangerously.

"Don't think you'd be able to handle me _shrimp_. See, I'm 6th seat Hidaka Daichi of the 11th division. Yeah that's right; I'm ranked right after Ayasegawa Yumichika in terms of power. You don't have what it takes to handle a man like me"

It seemed as if almost every Shinigami man that Karin had come across was hell bent on trying to piss Karin off. Irritated with the cockiness of the large man, Karin spat back an equally insulting reply.

"You're supposed to be a seated officer? How disappointing… I see so many people here and this is the best that your division could come up with as far as one of their seated officers? Pathetic!"

Karin knew it was probably not wise to aggravate the much larger man, but at this point she couldn't be bothered to care; this Daichi person disrespected her, and she had no intentions of leaving Soul Society without leaving her mark on the overgrown bastard that was standing before her.

"What the hell did you say bitch" seethed Daichi, bending down to stare Karin _directly_ in the eyes, his breathe a foul mixture of a sustained lack of proper hygiene and liquor.

"Did I stutter? _You're_ _pathetic_. Normally I'd never take an opponent as _lowly_ as you, but since you like running your mouth maybe you needed me to run you through with my zanpakutou a few times, so you'd learn a little respect" Said Karin smoothly, making it seem as if she took on Taichou level opponents on a regular basis.

"Bring it on bitch!" he roared as he laughed wildly. "Let's make it interesting" he said, pausing to take a swig of sake from a relatively large bottle that he had in his possession. "The winner, which will obviously be me, gets to have the other strip right here… in front of all of these people!" he said his laugh growing even wilder.

"I don't think anyone would appreciate the sight of your unwashed body without any clothes on, but it's your funeral" Said Karin as she walked into the middle of the field, expecting Daichi to follow her.

Karin was slightly worried that she was getting to ahead of herself, but her pride had just been put on the line, and she'd be damned if she'd step down and allow Daichi to feel as if he had intimidated her into submission. Karin cursed mentally at herself. Why did she have to be so proud? It was all because of her own stubborn pride why she had ended up here in the first place. She wasn't even sure if she could pull off making a good impression on the Taichou's let alone defeat an opponent, who seemed like he had enough bite to match his bark. However, it was too late to back down, and Karin had no choice but to accept her lot, praying to any god that cared to listen for divine intervention.

Byakuya watched as Karin sashayed into the middle of the field a glint determination present in her eyes, and confidence radiating off of her with each step that she took. Why did the young woman have to go for the most blood lusty member of the 11th division after Madarame Ikkaku and the Zaraki-Taichou himself? Based on what he had seen from the first time they had met it would be hard enough for Karin to defeat an unseated member. But a seated member… a 6th seat (who quite frankly in Byakuya's opinion was being under ranked) would utterly obliterate Karin in a spar, if Karin's previous poor display of swordsmanship was anything to go by. After convincing himself that his concern was only because her performance would ultimately affect how the other Taichou's would view his judgement, Byakuya decided that he should try and convince the Soutaichou to get Karin out of duelling with Hidaka Daichi. _Entirely_ for his sake, of course.

"Soutaichou-sama, this display is utterly barbaric. Should not all of the Taichou's collectively decide who would be an appropriate match for Kurosaki-San, rather than allowing her to choose her own opponent out of anger?"

"I agree with Kuchiki-Taichou, Soutaichou-sama. There are numerous risks that could potentially arise from allowing opponent selection to be done in this particular way. I would hate to endanger Karin-san's wellbeing by having her staked against an opponent who may be too great of a challenge for her at this time." Said Toshiro, with a slight hint of worry present in his voice.

Byakuya immediately noticed Toshiro's worried tone, and Toshiro's concerned features. It only made sense, Byakuya thought if they were so… _close_, that Toshiro would be worried about the wellbeing of his… whatever Karin was to him.

"Nonsense, Kuchiki-Taichou, Hitsugaya-Taichou, we will not intervene; this is how the 11th Division conducts itself. You must keep in mind that the 11th division is quite different from the other divisions, in that its values and code of conduct harbours more tribalistic, pride-based values than other Divisions. Besides that fact, I am quite sure that Kurosaki Karin is capable of handling a 6th seat member. You yourself spoke quite highly of her Kuchiki-Taichou, and let us not forget that she is a Kurosaki. I am sure she will do well, our intervention is not necessary" Said Yamamoto in reply.

Byakuya mentally sighed in resignation, with Hitsugaya audibly sighing in unison with him. It irritated him that he had a detectible trace of concern for Karin's wellbeing, but he relented deducing that it would only be natural for him to feel this way, seeing that his pride as a man of good judgement did to some extent rest on the shoulders of Karin's success.

Karin stood in the middle of the field, eyeing her opponent with something akin to disgust, whereas her opponent eyed her hungrily, as if she were a prime cut of meat.

"I'm going to enjoy beating you" he slurred aloud as he took a swig from his sake bottle, "I'll try not to leave too many bruises on you so that you'll still look just as fresh for me when you have to take off every last piece of clothing"

"Don't talk to her like that you bastard! I'll kill you!" yelled Ichigo, who was currently being restrained by Urahara and Yoruichi.

"Stay out of this Ichi-nii, I can handle myself" Said Karin sternly as she rested her hand on the hilt of her zanpakutou.

Ichigo looked as though he wanted to refuse, but the stern look in Karin's eyes told him that she would not take kindly to him interfering with her fight.

"You ready?" Said Daichi as he pulled out his zanpakutou

"Bring it on" Said Karin as she bent her knees in fighting stance.

Kiyogetsu's voice gently caressed Karin's mind as she prepared to unsheathe her zanpakuto,

"_I am with you, Karin-Sama"_

"Let's get this over quickly then, I've got shit to do today. Okimasu, Sensou no Kanazuchi!" Said Daichi, as his blade transformed into a giant black spiked warhammer with gold bells attached at the looping end of the giant hammer. Daichi spun his hammer around cockily, waiting for Karin to make the first move.

Sighing to release any built up nerves that she may have had Karin tightened her grip on her zanpakutou and prepared to release it. As she began to unsheathe her zanpakutou, Karin felt a whirlwind of her own reiatsu envelop her, and her zanpakutou shone with a blinding white glow, as steam floated off of her blade, much like Kiyogetsu's had in her inner world. Karin felt raw and powerful, as waves of static electricity became visible currents in the air, as a result of the extreme heat that was radiating off of her blade.

"Che, cut the extra crap and let's get right down to business" Said Daichi as he swung his hammer at Karin.

Karin shunpoed out of the direction of the gigantic hammer, and headed straight into the direction of Daichi.

She deftly swung her blade down and made two horizontal slices Daichi's chest. A loud sizzling sound could be heard as Kiyogetsu cut deeply into Daichi's flesh.

A hoarse howl was ripped from Daichi's lungs as the searing white pain of Karin's slashes lit his nerves on fire. Daichi fell onto one knee, his face twisted in anguish.

"You bitch, that fucking burns!" Daichi said as he clutched at his chest wounds.

"Quit your whining I haven't _even_ activated my shikai yet, and you're already on your knees" Said Karin, as she stared down at Daichi in disgust.

"Fuck you! I'm not even close to being done yet you cocky little bitch. I was trying to keep from fucking your face up but I don't even care anymore; I'll smash you to pieces!" Daichi roared, rising from his kneeling position, and tightening his grip on his zanpakutou.

Daichi raised his hammer above his head and smashed it down in Karin's direction. His movement was slow, and Karin easily dodged the attack. However, all of a sudden, the stave portion of the Warhammer bent, subsequently changing the direction of the warhammer head, and in a swift movement it headed right towards the direction that Karin was evading in, connecting to her form with a sickening _Smack!_

Karin fell to the ground roughly, disrupting the flat ground in her wake. The impact was painful, but nothing near fatal. Karin got up, shaking off her fall, and rose to meet the hammer as it came down towards her again. Karin took the hammer full on with her blade rather than trying to evade it, and successfully countering Daichi's attack, leaving him wide open. Karin shunpoed close enough to him to land a devastating slash on Daichi's shoulder. Karin's zanpakutou glowed brighter as it connected with Daichi's flesh, and he groaned painfully as Karin's blade dug deeper and deeper into his shoulder.

Karin jumped back a safe distance, to survey what damage she had managed to do. Daichi's entire right side was bleeding, and he looked furious.

"You. You just piss me off so fucking much!" roared the belligerently intoxicated Shinigami.

Daichi spun his hammer around until a red aura began to envelop it "Bunshin!" said Daichi as he stopped spinning the hammer as he said that, another warhammer head formed from the handle, stretching all the way up to meet the original hammer.

"Bunshin, Bunshin, Bunshin, Bunshin, Bunshin!" He cried again, causing five other spiked hammers to join the other two.

Daichi whipped his hammer hilt, causing all seven hammers to fly at Karin mercilessly. Karin tried her best to deflect and dodge each hammer, but no matter how fast she tried to dodge, another hammer always cornered her, connecting with her body with a sickening crunch. Eventually, Karin found herself caught in the middle of a cage of hammers, each hammer taking a turn at attacking Karin.

"This is the true power of Sensou no Kanazuchi. I can create a maximum of 7 equally powered clones of my hammer, all connected to my hilt. Once you've been captured in my warhammer prison, there is virtually no way to escape."

"You're not leaving there, until you beg me. I wanna hear you scream my name bitch!" Daichi said wickedly, increasing the speed at which his hammers bombarded Karin.

Karin was being hit left right and centre, completely cornered. Karin searched around looking for an exit, but found none. It wasn't until one of the hammers was hitting her into an eastern corner of Daichi's 'warhammer prison' that Karin discovered a large open zone that no hammers had gone to. Karin shunpoed over to the open area, and stood there observing the pattern of the warhammers.

Karin noticed, that the warhammers were completely out of rhythm. The warhammers smashed erratically, with no specific point or apparent method of aim set in mind. From the looks of it, Daichi wasn't even trying to sense Karin's reiatsu to see if his hammers were actually hitting her. When Karin looked more carefully, she found several other spots that the hammers never hit. Karin wondered how it was he managed to become a seated officer if his technique was so severely unrefined. Karin was going to exit the 'prison' but she decided it would be far more entertaining to wait for Daichi to tire himself out, and then unleash her own power.

Back on the ground level, Ichigo had completely lost it, and was running over to the Soutaichou yelling for him to call the match to an end.

"Jii-san stop this nonsense, Karin is getting hurt out there and that bastard isn't even thinking about the fact that she has no experience! If you let this continue who knows what will happen to her!" Yelled Ichigo, anger and worry overpowering his voice.

"Silence yourself Kurosaki, you worry unnecessarily." Said Yamamoto.

"What the hell do you mean Jii-san! She's getting the life beat out of her for god sakes! Can't you hear that clanging? That's those hammers connecting with Karin's body!" retorted Ichigo angrily.

While Byakuya didn't say anything, for once he had to agree that Yamamoto's statement seemed to be a little backward considering they had all just been watching Karin get pummelled into nothingness by seven massive hammers. But lately, the Soutaichou had said a number of things that hardly made any sense, so Byakuya simply went along with it.

When Yamamoto did not immediately answer Ichigo got even more frustrated, he looked just about ready to tear off on a rant, when Shunsui put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, attempting to calm him down, and speak some reason to the distraught young man.

"Haven't you noticed Ichigo? Focus on Karin-chan's reiatsu. It hasn't wavered much at all since the very beginning of this fight. Karin isn't dying in that 'warhammer prison' it looks like she's just fooling around with Hidaka-san." He said in a calm, low voice, chuckling slightly as Ichigo's facial expression changed and his body visibly relaxed.

Now that Byakuya thought about it, he realized that Karin's reiatsu showed very little signs of distress. Despite the few times that Hidaka Daichi had landed a few point blank shots on Karin with his hammer, Karin had not exhibited any signs that would indicate that the 11th Division 6th seat had overpowered her. Even while she was inside of the hammer prison, only occasionally did he detect a fluctuation in reiatsu that would indicate that she had been hit.

As promised, Daichi kept attacking Karin, waiting for her to call out his name in bitter defeat. Daichi continued with his onslaught of attacks until he began to get winded from overuse of his Shikai ability. Finally deciding that Karin had had enough, he retracted his seven hammers, deactivating his shikai's special ability, causing his hammer to revert back into sword form. When the smoke cleared, Daichi, and most of the other onlookers in the crowd were absolutely shocked at what they saw.

Karin stood standing, slightly bruised, but otherwise unharmed. She flashed a confident smile at Daichi as his eyes widened in shock at her relatively unscathed appearance.

"H-how!" asked Daichi, mouth agape.

"It was simple really; your so called 'warhammer prison' isn't all that inescapable. Your aim is sloppy, and your hammers are all out of rhythm, thus leaving large gaps that an opponent could hide in indefinitely, if they were smart enough to notice. Believe it or not, I found a ton of safe zones within your little prison. That particular style of attack, with the particular timing that you were using between each attack is only useful if you could make at least 1000 hammer clones, not just a simple seven" Karin explained.

"Well then what the hell were my hammers hitting all this time!" said Daichi defensively, trying to save himself the embarrassment of being exposed as a mediocrely skilled Shinigami.

"Aside from a few times in the beginning when I didn't notice the giant safe spots in your 'prison', your Hammers were mostly hitting themselves" said Karin matter-of-factly.

"That's Bullshit! I don't believe any of it! My technique was perfect; nobody has ever fought me and come out unharmed!" Yelled the large man.

Karin shrugged, beginning to get bored with the larger man's shouts of disbelief. "Believe it or not, it is what it is. Now, you said you had some shit to do? You can start write after I make _you_ strip in front of this entire crowd" Said Karin as she held her blade in front of her.

Karin charged at Daichi with ruthless speed. Karin wasted no time in bombarding him with a rapid array of slashes and uppercuts, which created a bloody criss-cross pattern all over Daichi's skin, whisking him upwards in the process. Daichi, completely worn out from exerting so much force into his shikai could barely keep up with Karin's speed, and had to resort to sloppily defending himself with his sword held horizontally.

Finally when Karin had gotten Daichi a fair distance up into the air, she held her sword out infront of her, and activated her Shikai.

Karin raised her zanpakuto above her head, and yelled the command "Hikaru to Oreru, Kiyogetsu!" as she brought it her zanpakutou down. With that, Karin's zanpakutou glowed even brighter, before bursting into shards that favoured the shape of moonflower petals, that ignited into brilliant white flames. The flames were so bright that Daichi's senses became overwhelmed by the sheer brilliance, rendering him incapable of dodging the incoming onslaught. The flaming shards traveled after Daichi's rapidly descending form at an incredible speed. The shards enveloped Daichi in an intoxicating swirl of white flames, knocking him into the ground with considerable force. A violent piercing holler could be heard from Daichi as the flaming shards continued to envelop him, before slowly returning back to Karin's blade. The sword returned to a mostly normal form, but translucent white flames could still be seen silhouetting Karin's zanpakutou as she landed right in front of the mini-crater that Daichi was located in.

When Karin laid eyes on Daichi's form, she noticed that all of his clothing had been torched into oblivion, save for his hakama, that had remained partly intact. Remembering their bet, Karin cleanly brought her blade down by the bottom of Daichi's hakama.

Realizing what Karin intended on doing, Daichi's eye widened in fear. "No please, I beg of you don't do it! I didn't mean what I said earlier! Everything! Gomen'nasai!"

"A deal is a deal" Said Karin as she surged her reiatsu, causing the flames of her sword to flare, burning every last remnant of Daichi's clothing, as well as causing minor superficial damage to his skin. A pathetic cry left Daichi's mouth as the heat of Karin's blade lingered on his skin, biting at his wounds, leaving him in white-hot agony.

With that, Karin sheathed her zanpakutou, and walked away from Daichi's cowering form. As Karin walked, through her peripheral vision she could see some squad members with the _Yonbantai_ kanji on their badges rushing towards the mini-crater that she left Daichi in. Karin walked right up to the part of circle that the Taichou's had occupied, and awaited the Soutaichou's verdict.

It was safe to say that Byakuya was not the only Taichou who was thoroughly surprised. Even though they had come to the realization that Karin wasn't really endangered within Daichi's 'warhammer prison', nobody had expected her to come out relatively unscathed with such a quickly deduced analysis of Daichi's ability. What was most surprising however, was Karin's shikai; pure moonfire, the light of the moon in its most destructive form.

Even before her releasing her shikai, her zanpakutou had garnered a great deal of attention from the Taichou's and Fukutaichou's. But the real bombshell was dropped when Karin released her shikai and her sword _shattered_ into flaming _shards_ that resembled _flower petals_. It was undeniable that there was a similarity between Senbonzakura, and Karin's Kiyogetsu, and Byakuya could almost hear the comparisons that were being made in the minds of the other Taichou's. Byakuya wasn't sure if he was justified or juvenile in being irritated with the fact that he shared a spiritual similarity with a woman who never ceased to cause him grief.

Finally after a long moment of silence, the Soutaichou spoke up first.

"Your powers are indeed quite impressive Kurosaki Karin. You have left us with much to ponder upon. We will return to the meeting hall to conduct a more in-depth assessment of your skill. You will remain outside until it is required of you to enter." Said the Soutaichou.

The Taichou's and Fukutaichou's had all assembled in the hall, waiting patiently for Yamamoto to initiate the discussion.

"Kurosaki Karin has certainly proven her worth as an ally to Soul Society. Her zanpakutou, Kiyogetsu possesses rather curious traits that have not gone unnoticed by mine eyes, as I'm sure it hasn't gone unnoticed in your own" said Yamamoto

"Indeed. The girl's zanpakutou possesses a rather powerful quality in which it is able to generate an intense heat, presumably derived from moonlight, even while in its sealed state. Her Zanpakutou would be a most interesting specimen for study" Said Kurotsuchi-Taichou.

"She had enough kick in that zanpakutou of hers to make that Daichi bastard beg like a bitch, so it's gotta be pretty hot." Said Muguruma Kensei

Shunsui snickered at Kensei's comment, remembering the way that Hidaka Daichi had begged the young woman for mercy.

"Ah Yama-jii, her shikai reminds a lot of Ryuujin Jakka too. She still needs some work, but that white fire was pretty hot. It moved moderately fast as well, and with some training I think she'd make an excellent Shinigami" said Shunsui.

"While such it's certainly eons away from now, with some dedication and lots of training, I do believe that one day intensity of the heat generated from Karin-san's Kiyogetsu could possibly even rival your own one day Yamamoto-sensei." Said Jushiro

"The kid's alright in my eyes. Anyone who can shut that annoyin' Daichi bastard up deserves my respect. I can sort of see how you're all anglin' Karin's Zanpakutou and comparin' it with Yama-Taichou's, but I know I'm not the only one that thinks her shikai has a lot in common with Kuchiki's shikai? Yeah those petals were on fire, but they're still flyin' petals. Can't ignore that" Said Shinji

Everyone else in the room sweatdropped at Shinji mentioning the one obvious statement that everyone had tried to avoid bringing up. It was not that well-kept a secret that Byakuya prided himself on the fact that his zanpakutou was unique, with only his grandfather and father having had similar abilities. Not wanting to ruffle the young nobles feathers (even though he would pretend he didn't care), they had all pretended that they didn't notice the uncanny similarity between Karin's zanpakutou and Byakuya's.

"Karin-san's zanpakutou is quite unique; I do not believe we have ever come across a zanpakutou with abilities quite like hers in the history of the soul society. I believe it would be a disservice to the young lady if we were to neglect to insure that she had all the necessary training available to her. I propose that a volunteering Taichou take Karin as their protégé, training, building upon, and honing her pre-existing talent. Only then I believe, will Karin-san's true potential be unlocked" Said Unohana, gently speaking her words of wisdom.

Yamamoto grunted thoughtfully at Unohana's words before he spoke.

"Unohana-taichou makes a valid point. It is our responsibility as the Taichou of the Gotei to ensure that the safety of soul society and the balance of the worlds are maintained. If Karin could possibly be an aid to this cause then we must act accordingly and ensure that she reaches her maximum potential. Are there any Taichou that would like to volunteer for the task?" Asked Yamamoto.

Most of the captain's raised their hands at the offer of being able to train the fledging Shinigami.

"Karin's abilities could prove extremely useful in raids and missions which require ambush-style methods of attack. With training that emphasized stealth and speed, Karin would make an excellent 2nd Division member" said Soifon

"I'm afraid me and Karin simply don't play to the same tune. I wouldn't be much help to her as a mentor" Said Rojuro

"I'm afraid that I must agree with Outoribashi-Taichou; Karin simply isn't meant for a division that specializes in healing" Said Unohana.

"I don't mind it, teachin' her." Said Shinji

"Hn." Was Byakuya's only reply.

"The 7th Division would be honoured to take Kurosaki-san under its wing" said Komamura.

"Ah Yama-jii, I could never say no to accepting a beautiful young lady into my ranks. I would be happy to show her the ropes" Said Shunsui, leaving the last part of his statement open to individual interpretation.

"Che, doesn't matter to me" said Kensei nonchalantly.

"The 10th division would be honoured to have Karin in its ranks. Over the years Karin has proven to be a great friend and ally. It is only natural that her presence would be a welcomed in my division.

"Can't kill her if im trainin' her. Keep me outta this" Said Zaraki indignantly

"I have no interest in training anyone. It would be much too time consuming" said Mayuri.

"I would be delighted to look after Karin-san, but I'm afraid my fluctuating condition wouldn't make me a suitable teacher. I wish her the best nonetheless" said Jushiro despondently.

The whole room became silent, waiting for the Soutaichou's final say.

"I think Kuchiki-Taichou should do it" said Unohana, smiling at the captain in mention.

What on earth? Byakuya was beginning to think that there was there some sort of vendetta against his sanity. Why would Unohana even suggest something so ridiculous? Him and Karin working together? He would rather castrate himself; It was obvious that no good could ever come out of the two of them working together.

"I do not believe that such an arrangement would truly be beneficial to neither me, nor Kurosaki-san" said Byakuya evasively.

"Karin-san's shikai has an uncanny resemblance to your shikai. You are the only captain who uses a free flowing shikai, aside from Yamamoto-sempai. You would be the best teacher for her, Kuchiki-Taichou. You should do it" Said Unohana as calmly as ever.

"Resmblance breeds repetitiveness, it would be unwise –"

"**Do It, Kuchiki-Taichou"**

That strangely calm, disturbing tone that Unohana used whenever she **demanded** something be done was nothing short of terrifying to every last Taichou and Fukutaichou in the room. Whenever Unohana used that tone, non-cooperation in even its most innocent form simply ceased to exist. One did not question Unohana's command, they simply followed orders.

With that, it was inaudibly unanimous; Kuchiki Byakuya by Unohana's intimidating decree, would be responsible for training Kurosaki Karin. All that was needed was the Soutaichou's approval, but Byakuya had a feeling that even the Soutaichou was slightly intimidated by Unohana, and wouldn't hesitate to agree.

Sweatdropping, the Soutaichou finally spoke, "Due to Unohana-Taichou's… Insistence, I believe that we _all_ agree that Kuchiki-taichou would be the most suitable mentor for Kurosaki Karin"

Not a soul said a word in protest.

With that, the doors of the meeting hall were opened, and Karin and company entered the room, waiting to hear the decision that the Taichou's had come to.

"Kurosaki Karin, It has been decided that in order to ensure that you reach your maximum potential, you require a senior officer of the Gotei 13. After carefully taking into consideration your shikai ability, and you skill level, we have decided to assign Kuchiki-Taichou as your mentor, indefinitely"

'_hell no!' _thought Karin defiantly. There was no way she was going to work with that arrogant bastard. She'd interacted with him one time too many to know that the two of them would do horribly working together.

"K-Kuchiki-Taichou? There must be some sort of mistake… Ano, what about Toshi – Hitsugaya-Taichou, I'm sure that he and I would get along better considering our longstanding –"

"**I Had Suggested Kuchiki-Taichou As A Mentor For You. The Similarity Between Your Zanpakutou Made Kuchiki-Taichou The Most Sensible Choice. I Hope That There Is No Problem Karin-san." **Said Unohana her voice sickly sweet, but intimidating tone that made the hair behind Karin's neck grow with fear.

Karin sweatdropped excessively at the older woman's intimidating tone and expression. On second thought, Karin thought she might be able to deal with Kuchiki-Taichou as her sensei.

"A-ano, there is no problem Taichou-san" Replied Karin nervously.

"I am glad. I expect to see you improve in leaps and bounds Karin-san. Is there anything else that should be taken care of before we call this meeting to a close Yamamoto-Sempai?" Said Unohana, her gentle smile and calm voice reverting back to normal entirely.

Yamamoto rubbed his cane thoughtfully before he spoke, "You girl, you are the Sibling of Kurosaki Ichigo, and Kurosaki Karin?" said the Soutaichou, casting his gaze on Yuzu, who was standing beside Ichigo timidly.

"H-hai Soutaichou-Sama, I am Kurosaki Yuzu." Said Yuzu, unable to relieve herself from the innate sense of nervousness that seemed to envelope her.

"Step forward child" Said the Soutaichou.

Obediently, Yuzu stepped forward, standing in the middle of the hall, under the scrutinizing gaze of every Taichou and Fukutaichou in the hall.

"What powers do you possess?" Questioned the Soutaichou.

"I-I have none to speak of Soutaichou-Sama" Yuzu said, looking down at her fingers as she fiddled with them nervously.

"A powerless Kurosaki? How strange" The Soutaichou said, pondering the absurdity of such an occurrence.

Yuzu didn't look up from her fingers, but it was easy to see that she felt embarrassed at the fact that she was powerless, unlike her renowned brother, her newly acclaimed sister, and their incredibly powerful father.

Karin and Ichigo could see that Yuzu was obviously discomforted by the spot she had been put in, and both siblings were equally furious. Ichigo rushed over to Yuzu's side, and was about to give the Soutaichou a piece of his mind when a voice interjected, saving the audience from hearing a particularly unpleasant arrangement of words.

"With all due respect Soutaichou-Sama, I do not believe that is the case" Said Toshiro. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Karin smiling at him encouragingly, and so he continued.

"If you focus clearly on Kurosaki Yuzu's reiatsu, you can see that it is severely repressed, rather than nonexistent altogether. I assume that this is because Yuzu's powers are still dormant because she is technically still living, unlike her brother and sister whose powers have been awakened through a process of technical 'death'. Is my assumption correct Urahara-san?"

Urahara nodded, "Indeed you are correct Hitsugaya-Taichou"

"I am almost certain that if Yuzu-san was to undergo the same process that her siblings went through, that her powers would certainly hold an unprecedented amount of promise. If Urahara-san would be willing to awaken Yuzu's powers, I am sure that she would be a great asset to any squad that would be assigned to supervise her" he finished.

Yuzu looked up at Toshiro, eyes wide with surprise, nearly overflowing with tender gratitude. Toshiro gazed back and a faint smile touched his features.

The Soutaichou nodded at Toshiro's words, the logic behind them being absolute.

"Very well, then. Urahara, you will do whatever it is that needs to be done in order to enable Kurosaki Yuzu to make use of her suppressed reiatsu. Furthermore, Kurosaki Karin will take up permanent residence in the seireitei in order to begin her training under Kuchiki-Taichou's tutelage." Said the Soutaichou

Karin, not liking the fact that decisions were being made for her and her sister, spoke up against the Soutaichou's decree.

"Hold on a second, you can't _make_ Yuzu awaken her Shinigami powers. You didn't even ask her if she wanted to be a Shinigami! I'm not letting you choose for her. If Yuzu _wants_ to be a Shinigami then fine, but ask her first. And also, there's no way I'm moving to Seireitei now. Yuzu and I both have two more months of schooling in the human world, and we're not going anywhere until we're finished!" Said Karin defiantly.

Yamamoto's face took on a very angry expression, and he looked he was about to reply to Karin's retort with relentless fury. However, Jushiro Ukitake spoke up, effectively nullifying any potential arguments.

"In all honesty Sensei, I believe Karin-san does have a point. It wouldn't be fair to neither Karin-san nor Yuzu-san if we were to pull them away from the lives they have in the human world right away. Perhaps we could offer them the option of partitioning their time between Seireitei and the Human world? That is of course, if Yuzu-san would like to become a Shinigami" Said Jushiro, acting as the voice of reason.

"Are you okay with being a Shinigami Yuzu?" Said Ichigo concernedly. He really didn't want his sisters to become Shinigami, but he realized that it wasn't really his decision to make.

"I would like that, a lot" admitted Yuzu.

"Very well. In two months' time, upon completion of their human schooling year Kurosaki Karin will move to Seireitei under the supervision of Kuchiki-Taichou of the 6th division, and Kurosaki Yuzu will be evaluated formally, an evaluation of her talents and which squad her powers would be most useful in. In the time before that Kuchiki-Taichou, I expect that you will meet with Kurosaki Karin regularly to train"

With that, the meeting was called to a close, all those in attendance, dispersing and heading their separate ways. As Byakuya was exiting the meeting hall, Ichigo stopped him by grabbing his shoulder and eyed him crossly.

"Byakuya. Karin is _my_ sister. If you so much as touch a hair on her head inappropriately, not even Jii-san's Ryuujin Jakka will be able to stop me from coming after you. I beat you once, and Kami knows that I'm not afraid to do worse than that" Said Ichigo lowly.

Byakuya's eyes slit low as he looked Ichigo up and down with something akin to disgust.

"Unlike _you_ Kurosaki, I can assure you that my intentions toward your sister are nothing less than entirely duty-based, so you needn't fret. Karma will not be bestowed upon you on account my purely _professional_ interactions with your sister" Said Byakuya coldly.

Ichigo flushed after understanding the implications of Byakuya's words, and turned to walk away. "Just watch out, Byakuya" he said as he walked off.

It was late by the time the meeting had come to an end, and it was arranged that the group would stay the weekend in seireitei, and leave on the Sunday. The entire group was initially supposed to go with Yoruichi and Urahara to stay at the Shihoin estate, but Rukia insisted that they split up, with her and Karin staying at the Kuchiki Mansion. Despite Ichigo's protests, Karin and Rukia left separately, heading in the direction of the Kuchiki Mansion, Rukia raving about the marvelousness of the Kuchiki Mansion the entire time.

**A/N: How was it? I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

I hope you guys liked Karin's zanpakutou's 1st stage Shikai. To explain it in more detail than I did when writing, Kiyogetsu's power is literally pure moonlight (Refer back to the symbolism I used in the last chapter when I described Karin's inner world). Moonlight in its purest and most destructive form is _moonfire_. The use of moonlight as the source of Kiyogetsu's power will be expanded in later chapters, and by the end of this story Karin's zanpakutou will be shown to be quite versatile. Karin's shikai command "_Hikaru to Oreru_" is translated as "Shine and break"

Hidaka Daichi is an OC I created. He won't have any significance in future chapters, but I needed him for this chapter simply to help progress the chapter. I was originally going to make him an Omaeda clan family member (Like Soifon's Lieutenant) but I decided not to, because I didn't want him to have any significant connection with the canon characters. The command for his Shikai "_Okimasu, Sensou no Kanazuchi_" can be loosely translated as "Rise, Hammer of War" Okimasu meaning Rise, and Sensou no Kanazuchi (the name of Daichi's zanpakutou) meaning Hammer of war.

Karin and Toshiro's interactions were perhaps the trickiest part of this chapter for me to write. I am a huge HitsuKarin shipper, and I find it so difficult to write them without wanting to pair them! When I started writing this fic and I realized that I couldn't couple Karin and Toshiro, I felt stumped, because there was no way in hell that I would pair him with Hinamori Momo. I absolutely hate Momo's character; I think she's weak, selfish and whiny. I mean, everyone else felt betrayed by Aizen Gin and Tosen, but you don't see them going around the place bitching all the time! I understand that she had feelings for Aizen, but honestly she was being unnecessarily dramatic for like 2 and a half arcs.

I feel like she's the worst match for Toshiro, because all she's ever done for him is hurt him, and guilt him to the point of him nearly getting himself killed on SEVERAL occasions, trying to fight battles that she is too weak and senseless to fight on her own. (No hard feelings Momo fans. I just don't like the overly naïve Damsel type character that Hinamori is). **Rant aside**, I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with my pairing dilemma, but HitsuYuzu / YuzuGaya sort of came to me out of the blue as I was writing this chapter. I was happy for the new pairing because I didn't want to pair Yuzu with Jinta. I think it's just cruel to pair a character with so much potential, with canon fodder (No hard Feelings again Jinta fans).

I had fun writing Byakuya's view of Karin and Toshiro's interaction, because I feel like that's the type of thing that he'd _think_ in a situation like that. Byakuya may appear stoic on the outside, but he's still (for lack of a better term) '_human'_. And even from TBTP mini arc and several other episodes/manga chapters we learn that Byakuya isn't as unconcerned with the affairs of others, nor as level-headed as he is often thought to be.

**I won't beg or force any of you, but I would really appreciate a review. Tell me what you think! I really enjoyed reading your reviews from last week. They made me smile, and in some cases laugh too!**

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_Reviewer Response Time!_

At - Yuki-chan and Kuro-kun: Thankyou very much!

_At - Mysticfolly: I"m glad that you enjoyed the chapter. And wonderful guess! You're the only reviewer who mentioned the power of Karin's zanpakutou being pure moonlight_

_At - hakk: LMAO! When I read your comment I had to go back and read chapter 4. I read that sentence over at least 3 times, and each time I laughed till tears came out of my eyes when I remembered your comment. I'm so silly sometimes. I had just finished watching the Count of Monte Cristo when I had started writing that last chapter, and I was so caught up in all of my reminiscent silliness that I must have accidentally put that in there. Kudos to you for noticing my blunder though!_

_At - Metsfan101: Thankyou for reviewing!_

_At - Blue Letters: Thankyou, i'm so glad I was able to make you like the main pairing in this story! Writing these two has made me also fall in love with his pairing (definitely one of my favorites, both crack and canon). The more I write, the more I grow to love this pairing! You should definitely write a ByaKarin! I was reading some of your stories (I will review as soon as I get a chance) and I think you're an awesome writer. You would definitely do this pairing justice! Don't give up on your stories, they have great potential._

_At - BananasXareXyellow : Thankyou so much hun! I'm glad you like the balance that i've tried to maintain between Karin's sensitive side as well as her more fiery side. I wanted to make her as realistic a character as possible. Thankyou for appreciating my efforts!_

_At - cherrys-and-strawberrys: Haha thank you so much! I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. Hopefully this chapter is just as enjoyable!  
_

_At - Bfat81:Thankyou for reviewing. Im glad that You aren't disappointed. After the events of this current chapter (chapter 5) Karin and Byakuya will finally have some more 1-on-1 interaction, and we will get to see the feistier side of Karin unleashed. Yuzu's is quiet now, but she will get her own voice as the story progresses, although not to the same extent as Karin or Ichigo. _

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Preview for next chapter:

_Karin entered the dining hall, poking her head through the door curiously before laying eyes on Rukia and Byakuya who were kneeling in front of the dining table. Karin stepped in smiling at Rukia as she walked towards the table to join her. Karin wore a blue slik yukata with a simple cloud print. Her hair was still wet from her shower, and it clung to her face slightly. Though her appearance was slightly dishevelled Karin still managed to look strikingly beautiful. _

"_Rukia-san, this place is so large; I almost got lost on my way here. If it wasn't for Hachiro-san you might've had to send a search party for me" Said Karin sheepishly_

"_Karin-san you look lovely! I'm so glad that the maids were able to find you a nice yukata. Don't you agree Nii-sama" beamed Rukia excitedly._


	6. Chapter 6:Masters and Mistresses

**A/N: Let Me just say that I'm REALLY sorry for not posting the last to weekends. I was on vacation for a bit, and about 20,000 words worth of writing was DELETED (Ch.6, 7 and part of ch.8) from my computer, during my vacation through a process that I'd rather not discuss (still a sore spot for me /3). I was really demotivated because of it, and I was not very enthusiastic about rewriting 3 chapters. I really rushed to finish them, and I'm not happy with the outcome of this chapter, but I couldn't let another week pass without giving you guys at least something to read. I've made this chapter pretty lengthy (about 9000 words) to make up for my lateness, and I'll be posting ch.7 later this week to make up if things go according to plan. **

**Before we continue, let me just say THANKYOU too all my faithful reviewers, and thankyou to all of my new reviewers, who have recently started reading my story. Your continued support is much appreciated, which also brings me to the next thing I want to talk to you all about before we continue with this chapter.**

**I got quite a few inboxes from viewers concerning my story, and while I am always happy to take suggestions, I would appreciate if certain viewers respect the fact that this is ****my**** FF, and as such, I have the liberty and discretion to write this story as I choose. I do not have the time to read 8000 words of writing that discuss what you ****want**** to happen in the story that I am writing, nor do I have the time, patience, or desire to completely revamp the plot that I have laid out for my story, just so that it will meet all of your own expectations. Perhaps this is just my opinion, but isn't it more enjoyable for a reader when they are surprised with what happens in the story, rather than knowing everything that happens in the story because ****they**** dictated it? I do not mean to offend anyone, but I wanted to put that out there. This DOES NOT mean that I don't want any more suggestions, because I do appreciate them, I just don't want epic novels that have a list of demands and expectations. Some of you have some really good ideas, and I suggest that you take these ideas and maybe implement them into your own stories, because I'm sure many people would like them. The Last thing I want to talk about before I let you guys continue on with the story (that is, if you haven't already skipped over this part) is that you don't need to overthink insignificant details. For example, I had a reader ask me about why I made Karin so short, and that it made it hard to make a drawing of a mature Karin (Thankyou by the way for doing this ;D). Personally, I think Karin's height of 5"3 (Which is average for Japanese women) is fine, but if you feel that you would like her to be 5"7, or 5"8 or even 7 feet tall, then go ahead and picture that. One of the greatest things about fanfiction is that it is open to Interpretation.**

****PLEASE READ THE A/N AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER: I have some announcements, as well as some suggestion requests for you guys****

***sigh* With that, let me let you guys get onto your chapter. Thank you for your continued support and patience.**

**I Do Not Own Bleach**

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_Important terms_

_Kamijouchuu = Head servant_

_Danna = Master_

_Dono= very formal (Archaic or oldschool) title, used to refer to only the most respected individuals, but nowadays 'Sama' has taken its place in the general usage of the Japanese language. In this chapter, to emphasize the traditionalness of the Kuchiki clan, I made them treat 'Dono' as a more esteemed title than 'Sama'._

_Geta = The sandals that Shinigami wear_

_Purpleheart = Wood from a tree that grows in South America. Very expensive, very durable, and quite Beautiful IMO (Almost like mahogany, but with a rich purplish undertone)_

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Karin and Rukia shunpoed at a moderately fast pace, engrossed in a rather one-sided conversation about Seireitei and the Kuchiki Estate.

"…And our Estate is one of the largest expanses of privately owned land in Seireitei, coming in second only to the Shihouin estate. Since Nii-sama became the head of the clan, he has made sure that a more than sufficient amount of time, Ryo, and effort has gone into keeping the land in prime condition" Said Rukia animatedly.

"Oh, that's… interesting" said Karin, not really finding Rukia's topic of discussion particularly stimulating at all.

"Indeed. Nii-sama is a very hard worker, and over the years he has certainly been rewarded for his hard work in the name of the best interests of the clan" Said Rukia with sheer admiration in her voice.

Karin rolled her eyes at Rukia's admiration for her brother; she didn't see what was so great about him. So what if he worked hard? A lot of people did. In Karin's opinion, she thought that working your entire life to appease a bunch of your old, snooty relatives was a crappy excuse for 'hard work'.

"Did they give him his own private garden?" Said Karin sarcastically, chuckling slightly as she waited for Rukia to join in.

"No, Nii-sama has had a garden of his own for years. Even as a child he had always had one that was connected to his quarters. However, after he had inherited his position as clan-leader, he was given a much larger room and garden as his own. In fact, Ni-sama's garden is so large that he has his very own river running through it" Said Rukia seriously.

Karin almost faltered in her shunpo.

How overly extravagant were these people! The sarcastic part of Karin wanted to ask if they had copyright claimed the water as being exclusively Byakuya's, but she didn't bother asking, afraid of what the answer might possibly be.

"I'm so glad that you'll be staying with me for the weekend Karin! I just wish that we could've brought Yuzu." Said Rukia sadly.

Karin had to agree that she too wished that Yuzu could have accompanied them. But Karin knew it was hard enough for Ichigo to let one sister out of his sights, and there was no way in hell he would let the both of them out of his sight simultaneously.

"It's all for the best I suppose; I mean, Yuzu is probably going to have to start her training as soon as possible, so she'll need this time to talk with Yoruichi and Kisuke to get an idea of what it is she'll be going through. Besides, she can always spend the day. Not even Ichigo and his ignorance can make Yuzu stay if she decides that she wants to come." Said Karin in response

"hm" said Rukia as she nodded in response.

The two raven haired women shunpoed until a long winding path that seemed to lead up to nowhere came into view. Rukia headed toward the path and landed, Karin following suit.

"This is the path that leads toward the estate gate" Said Rukia as she walked down the path.

As Karin and Rukia walked down the path, they approached a rather large gate, and four men wearing amour adorned with the Kuchiki-crest were stood two on either side of the gates, equipped with large polearms. Upon noticing Rukia's presence, all four guards bowed in respect.

"Greetings Rukia-dono" they all said simultaneously, before rising and opening the gates Rukia to pass through. They stopped Karin at the gate with their pole-arms, awaiting Rukia's response. Rukia turned around and nodded at the guards in a gesture of consent.

"Let her pass. She is Kurosaki Karin – whom you will address by appropriate title – an honoured guest of my brothers. She will be staying with us for a few days, and from this point forward is given favour and preferred entry to come and go from this estate as she pleases.

Rukia nodded at the guards as she walked through, Karin doing the same albeit awkwardly. Karin thought the whole display was a little over the top in all honesty; Why would a Captain class Shinigami need to have his own guards? And secondly, what the hell was the point of all the bowing? However, knowing better than to bring it up and spoil the mood of her rather excited companion, Karin kept her lips sealed.

The two entered the Estate compound, heading towards the main doors. When Karin appraised the area, she had to admit that Rukia hadn't been lying about the splendour of the Kuchiki estate. The building was expertly constructed, the rare whitewood, mahogany, brick, and marble that were used to build the mansion came together in a magnetizing array of heavily contemplated, and expertly executed design that Karin was sure must have cost the clan a fortune to construct. As they walked through the main doors and into the mansion, despite herself, Karin audibly gasped at the understated beauty of the interior design. It was simple yet magnificent; White walls trimmed with purpleheart boarders, and glossy mahogany floors that appeared as though they had just been polished. Along the vast hallways were several portraits of what appeared to be calligraphy. The kanji in the calligraphic portraits was some of the most beautiful that Karin had ever laid eyes on.

"Amazing isn't it? Nii-sama has made every single one of these calligraphic portraits himself; he is renowned in seireitei for his impeccable kanji" Said Rukia in response to Karin's reverence.

"Impressive, I never thought he'd be into something like that" Said Karin, surprised.

Rukia led Karin down the corridors of the massive mansion until she came across an elderly servant, overseeing what looked like the reinforcement of a wall in the mansion. The man looked well into his 60's in terms of human age, and despite his occupation, he radiated a sense of authority and command with his presence.

"Nobuo-Kamijouchuu, I have been looking for you" Said Rukia to the man as she approached him.

Nobuo bowed curtly at Rukia before he spoke, "My apologies Rukia-dono; I had learnt of your return but I was unable to await your arrival at the front gate due to Kuchiki-danna requesting that I immediately attend to sealing the most recent passageways that Kusajishi Yachiru-fukutaichou had made in the manor."

Nobuo was about to continue his lament until he spotted Karin, overhearing the conversation that was underway between Rukia and himself. He squinted curiously at Karin, adjusting his spectacles as if trying to figure out who she could possibly be.

Rukia, catching onto the reason that Nobuo was staring at Karin so curiously, formally introduced Karin to the elderly servant.

"Nobuo, this is Kurosaki Karin. She is Nii-sama's honoured guest, and will be staying with us for a few days." Said Rukia as she gestured at Karin

The older man's eyes widened considerably at Rukia's words, but he quickly composed himself, and bowed deeply in front of Karin.

"Greetings Karin-dono, it is an honour to have you with us. Shall I show you to your bath, whilst I have the other maids prepare you a room?" said the older man.

"Ano, yes I'd really like that, and just call me Karin; I don't really need a title" said Karin, looking at her dirt-covered clothing and her slightly bruised skin, cringing slightly.

"I shall settle for Karin-sama. Now if you please, allow me to take you to the private baths" Said Nobuo as he led Karin down the corridor. Rukia waved Karin off smiling, before she too disappeared, presumably to take a bath of her own.

After what seemed like an endless line of winding and twisting corridors and turns, Nobuo finally stopped in front of two large doors that had the kanji for `master's springs' engraved on them.

"Beyond this door are several _reserved_ springs. Due to your status as Kuchiki-danna's esteemed guest, I have brought you to this particular set of springs. Please enjoy your bath Karin-sama, momentarily I will have a maid come to attend your needs, and lead you to your room once it has been adequately prepared" Said Nobuo, bowing before he left.

Karin, walked into the room, and looked around for a towel hangar and a place to leave her soiled clothing. She found at the end of the vast room was a rack that held several towel dark blue towels and robes, as well as a hamper beside it, that seemed to be meant for soiled clothing. Karin quickly disrobed, throwing her clothes into the hamper, and walked toward the springs. Karin stepped into the largest pool, and relished in the feel of the steamy spring water on her bruised skin. The slight stinging sensation that the water had on her skin was strangely pleasant, and Karin let a moan of relief escape her lips.

Despite the unexpected way that her day had unfolded, Karin was immensely grateful that things had turned out the way they did; she managed to enter her inner world, learn her zanpakutou's name, learn her shikai, and impress the leaders of the gotei 13, all in such a short period of time. She may not have mastered Bankai in 3 days, but she had certainly done well for herself and she was proud of her achievement. Remembering her triumphant defeat of Daichi, and the collective surprise that adorned the faces of the crowd members as she unleashed her shikai caused a smile to grace her features.

Karin stayed still in the spring for a long time, simply enjoying the feel of water against her battered skin. Eventually when Karin winded out of her trance of reminiscence, and began to proactively scrub her body. Karin dipped her head underneath the surface of the water and rigorously scrubbed at her ebony strands, making sure to clean her hair thoroughly, while trying to avoid tangling it.

After Karin felt satisfactorily clean, she stepped out of the hot spring and headed towards the robe rack, taking one of the blue towels and wrapping it around her hair, and putting on one of the towel robes that were hanging on the rack. When Karin put on the towel robe, she noticed that the robe was a very loose fit. The arms were longer, shoulders parts broader, and the robe was generally much longer than any towel robe she had owned back home, stopping considerably lower down on her legs. Karin dismissed the difference, assuming that the maids probably didn't have any time to find her a robe that would have been a more comfortable fit, seeing that she had arrived rather unannounced. Wrapping the robe more snuggly around her figure, and rolling up the sleeves, Karin walked backed to the door she entered through.

Outside of the door was a fidgety young maid, who stood nervously awaiting Karin's exit. When Karin stepped out of the bath room, the young maid jumped at the sound of the door opening, and she looked visibly surprised when she laid eyes on Karin's attire; Karin (although fully unaware) was clad in Kuchiki Byakuya's _personal_ bathing robes, and had rather confidently tied the robe making sure to expose his initial's on the towel textured garment. The young maid flushed bright pink as she suddenly 'realized' that she was put in charge of escorting Byakuya's 'mistress'.

"A-ano, you are Karin-dono?" said the meek young maid to Karin

Karin looked upon the girl quizzically, as she watched the girls features change from nervous, to shocked, to embarrassed. Upon hearing the girl, who couldn't have been older than maybe 13 years of age call her 'dono' Karin inwardly cringed. Titles were somewhat significant and she understood that, but over extravagant titles were something she absolutely couldn't stand.

"Call me Karin, 'dono' is highly unnecessary. What's your name maid-san?" Asked Karin.

"My name is of no consequence, I am too insignificant a member of this households staff for you to bother yourself with remembering my name" Said the young girl shyly.

Karin noted that equality and respect (for those of lower social 'class') was obviously a foreign concept in the Kuchiki mansion.

"Of course your significance is important. I want to know your name, if I wasn't interested I would never have asked you in the first place" Said Karin in response.

The girls eyes visibly brightened at Karin's logical, yet friendly words, and Karin felt almost bad for the poor maid. A girl with low self-esteem like her shouldn't have been placed to work in a house where the master was merciless in regards to other people's feelings.

"I am Haruka, Karin-sama" said the girl shyly.

"See, that's better. Well Haruka-san, would you be so kind as to lead me to the room that I'll be staying in while I'm here" Said Karin, smiling at the younger girl

"H-hai!" said the girl before turning around, and leading Karin towards her room at a considerably swift pace.

Karin's room was incredibly spacious. It had a very simple décor and was staunchly traditional. Karin didn't mind the look much (the decorator had obviously done a good job making the room look presentable) but she felt that the room had a rather uncomfortably archaic feel to it. There were traditional Japanese drawers, hideous lamps, and dull green and ox-blood red drapes that were meant to match the covers of the bed, and the shades that were present in the canopy. The walls were plain white, with elaborate drawings of blossoming sakura trees encompassing the walls. She noticed a door that appeared to lead outside, as well as another door that appeared to be leading to another room. Inside of Karin's room were three maids who were setting out a variety of what appeared to be different cloths on the foot of her bed. Upon noticing her and Haruka's presence, the three women bowed deeply, greeting Karin with utmost respect.

"We have arranged several garments for you to choose for your meal with Kuchiki-dono." One of the women said

"Whoa, I am not having dinner with that—"

Suddenly, Karin's stomach growled in protest. She didn't even realize it, but Karin hadn't even eaten since breakfast, and she was more than starved. Rubbing her belly embarrassedly Karin let out a shaky laugh, and walked over to the bed, to look at the clothes that the maids had set out for her.

There were 6 different Yukata that were laid out, each Yukata was made of rather expensive looking silk, and had very elaborate print with vibrant colours. Looking over them, Karin found that most of them were too flashy for her own taste. There was a solid magenta Yukata that caught Karin's eye; however she changed her mind when she realized that the Yukata had a lace trim around the cleavage area of the Yukata, which would have showed more chest than Karin would have ever showed on any occasion. The other one that Karin looked at was a sheer forest green, but it seemed more nightgown-esque than something she'd wear to dinner. If she didn't know any better, she'd think the maids were trying to dress her like a seductress on purpose. After crossing out almost every single yukata that was laid out, Karin settled on a pretty dark blue Yukata that had a cloud print. It wasn't flashy, or dowdy, just simple and presentable.

Karin picked up the Yukata, and turned around giving the maids a gesture that said 'hey, I kind of wanna get dressed, so you should probably leave'. However, the maids didn't seem to get the hint, and rushed to Karin's side.

"Karin-dono, are you certain that this particular Yukata will be pleasing to Kuchiki-danna? It is quite conservative" said one of the maids curiously, pointing at Karin's choice in clothing.

"First of all just call me Karin-san. And secondly, why the hell would I care about what that snooty bastard likes? No offense, I know he's your employer and all, but I really don't give a crap about his opinion" Spat Karin, inadvertently sounding much harsher than she actually meant to.

All of the maids' eyes visibly widened at Karin's words.

"B-but… S-should not the mistress care about her lord's opinion!" spluttered Haruka who was quite frankly appalled at Karin's lack of concern, and indignant way of referring to Byakuya.

Initially Karin did not understand what exactly the younger woman was getting at, but after a moment of allowing the words to sink in, Karin gawked at the maids in utter surprise, nearly choking on her own saliva. Suddenly, the odd stares, gestures, and the suggestive Yukata's all began to make sense. For some odd reason, the staff of the house seemed to think that Karin and Byakuya had something going on between the two of them, which was absolutely absurd! They'd never even seen Karin interact with Byakuya for goodness sakes! Was this how the minds of noble house staff worked? A female guest comes into the house, and suddenly everyone thinks she's the mistress or a prostitute of some sort?

"Eh? Byakuya's MISTRESS?" she yelled, absolutely shocked.

"Is it not the honour that Kuchiki-danna hath bestowed upon you?" said one of the maids.

"There is nothing *Honourable* about being a booty call!"

"Please, do not yell Karin-dono we did not mean to offend" another one of the maids apologetically.

"There's a big difference between _trying not to offend_ and not offending someone entirely! I'm offended! Do you take me for some whore?" said Karin, completely ignoring the behest of the maid.

"N-no, we would never Karin-sama! Ano… It is just that, it is customary for a lord to bring his mistress into his court, and given the location of you room... And your baths… A-and it has been so long since a woman has been brought into the mansion… And you are quite… Ano, _beautiful_ Karin-sama… So we j-just assumed…" babbled Haruka embarrassedly.

"Doesn't Byakuya have a wife or something like that? And, what's this about the location of my room?" Said Karin questioningly.

Not wanting to discuss the topic that Byakuya had forbid any of the people in his house from mentioning, Haruka skipped over the first question, and simply started on the next.

"You were given a room that was in very close proximity to Kuchiki-danna's. A room such as this was traditionally created to either house very close relatives or mistresses more often than not." Said Haruka, unable to look Karin in the eye.

"Well, I guess I'll have to talk to Byakuya about getting my room moved" said Karin through clenched teeth.

With that, Karin began to get dressed, completely disregarding the presence of the maids in the room. Even through her anger Karin was grateful that they had the common courtesy to at least bring her some underwear, regardless of the rather suggestive appearance that it had. Once Karin had finished getting dressed, she angrily left the room, heading out into the corridor to find Byakuya and give him a piece of her mind.

He should have known that she might be thought of in such a light if she was simply brought into the house without an explicit explanation for her presence.

*~*~*~*~

Byakuya had initially intended to dine by himself for the evening (because the mere thought of eating dinner with the elders at the other side of the estate was quite frankly, horrifying), but he was later informed by one of the servants in the house that his sister would be staying the remainder of the night at the Kuchiki manor.

To say he was relieved was an understatement. Despite Rukia believing that she had successfully duped her brother into thinking that her reason for staying in Karakura Town was strictly because it increased the level of safety there, Byakuya was no fool and knew the real reason for her staying for prolonged periods in the human world. He had known for a long time that his younger sister had feelings for the Ryoka boy, but he had always secretly hoped it had simply stemmed from his uncanny resemblance to Shiba Kaien, and would eventually fade away. Unfortunately, it seemed as time progressed, Rukia's feelings only seemed to grow stronger for Ichigo, and Ichigo in turn seemed to reciprocate those feelings.

Byakuya was not aware of how far their relationship had advanced, but he was strangely happy about the fact that she would not be staying another night in the presence of Kurosaki Ichigo while… Unattended. Regardless of the fact that she spent most nights in the Human world, presumably in his presence, every moment Rukia had away from Kurosaki Ichigo, was a victory for Byakuya.

At present, Byakuya had just entered his private dining quarters, and had taken a seat in front of the table. As he sat waiting for his sister to arrive, Byakuya made a barely audible sigh and relaxed shoulders that he never realized were tense in the first place. This day had been more hectic than usual, and even after the meeting had ended, Byakuya still felt a great deal of stress; he was responsible for the training of the Kurosaki girl. It was possibly the worst stroke of luck he could ever have had the misfortune of receiving. Byakuya had been agreeing with zealously Karin in his mind when she had tried to convince the other captains to put her under another Captains care, and was completely disheartened when she had swayed under the pressure of Unohana's intensity.

He could not blame her though; Unohana was naturally the most intimidating person in the Gotei 13, and perhaps the entire Soul Society. Even he had given in to Unohana's, gentle yet terrifying 'persuasion' tactics. Unfortunately, the two of them would simply have to learn to live with each other for the unforeseeable future, and that was that. Byakuya wondered curiously, however, how Hitsugaya had felt about the entire arrangement. Byakuya could only imagine that Toshiro would be irritated with the fact that he was not the chosen candidate for the task of training Karin, because that ultimately meant that they'd be spending less time together.

Byakuya reckoned that Karin would probably try to find one excuse or another to skip out on training to see her… _friend,_ given her temperament, and Byakuya realized he'd have to go through a lot of trouble trying to force Karin to be a diligent worker. But what if Hitsugaya had been the instigator of such occurrences rather than Karin? It would be inappropriate to ban the Taichou whom he was on relatively good terms with from visiting his manor as he did on rare occasion (but mostly to discuss business matters that couldn't be handled during working hours). But at the same time there was a slight possibility of such actions being necessary (for Hitsugaya's own good of course). Karin was a bad influence on him, and his interactions with her at an uncontrolled rate, could potentially increase the severity of Karin's probable poor work ethic. Once Karin was to be under his complete supervision, he would have to 'lay down the law' so to speak, and limit Karin's interactions with Hitsugaya, if necessary.

Byakuya was drawn out of his reverie at the sound of geta clanging against the hardwood floor of the dining quarters. Byakuya raised his gaze to find Rukia heading towards the table, a bright smile adorning her features.

"Nii-sama, I hope you don't mind us staying for the evening, it was late and even though she is wonderful, I couldn't dream of staying at Yoruichi-san's manor when I know you are here" Said Rukia earnestly, as she took a seat across from her elder brother.

"This is your home Rukia, I could never be discontented with – 'us'? Who have you brought to the manor _without_ my explicit permission Rukia?" Said Byakuya sternly.

He hadn't realized that Rukia had decided it would be appropriate to simply bring people into the estate without following the basic protocol of at least informing the clan leader. Such actions were not that of a noble, and had various ramifications depending on who was brought and why. Ichigo's presence in the manor without the appropriate preliminary meetings with the clan, and a firmly established alliance of sorts between his family and the Kuchiki's was almost like begging for the rumour mill to be set ablaze with all manner of deprecation and infamy.

"The fact that you have established relations with Kurosaki Ichigo – without permission from myself or the elders might I add – is immoral enough, but the fact that you would dishonour the Kuchiki clan by bringing him into the most intimate confines of our estate without so much as a formal announcement is completely unacceptable Rukia and quite frankly I am surprised at you" Said Byakuya coldly, honestly disappointed in Rukia's negligent behaviour.

"Y-you know about Ichigo and I?" Said Rukia, mouth agape.

"It is rather obvious; why else would you have jumped at the self-imposed task of remaining in the human world to assist in the effort to 'moderate and oversee Karakura Town and the balancing of souls in the region'? Certainly not because that is a post that is actually required in Karakura town. But back to the issue at hand: I want Ichigo out of my manor immediately. Until he acquires the dignity to at least request permission to pursue you, he does not deserve the privilege to be in this manor or on this estate" Said Byakuya.

"A-ano, I never brought Ichigo to the estate… I would never even imagine asking him to come to the estate without your permission." Said Rukia embarrassedly.

"Who is it then, that you have brought into this estate?" Said Byakuya, his voice void of any detectable emotion

Just then, the door opened, a pair of dark grey eyes and damp raven tendrils peeping through the opening.

After Karin had wandered around a few random halls at least 5 or 6 times, she had been able to calm down and realize, that it really wasn't Byakuya's fault for her being mistaken as his 'mistress' by the servants. Now that she had really been given the situation a fair amount of thought, she realized that Byakuya was probably completely unaware of her arrival. Seeing as the whole decision for her to stay with Rukia at the manor was rather impromptu.

Now totally deflated, Karin set her focus on the next most important thing on her mind; where the hell was she?

Karin walked around in circles for what seemed like forever, and she was beginning to get extremely frustrated. What was the point of owning a property that people could get lost in! Karin thought for sure she'd end up having to camp out in the halls, but luckily she heard footsteps coming from behind her, and she turned and rushed toward them eagerly.

It was Haruka, whose worried countenance had taken on an extremely relieved expression when she finally found Karin in the hallway.

"Karin-sama, have been looking everywhere for you! I am deeply sorry for offending you. Please accept my humblest apology" Said Haruka, bowing her head in a gesture of apology.

Karin put her hand on the younger girls shoulder, causing her to look at Karin in surprise.

"Ehh, I realize it wasn't your fault. Things are different here, and I get that; it's just that back in the human world I'm really not accustomed to stuff like this. Being thought of as a mistress to a noble might be a respectable position over here, but where I'm from it's essentially the same as being a cheap whore, and I would never do that, especially not for someone like Byakuya" Said Karin.

"Eh! You are of the Human World Karin-sama?" asked the younger girl, with child-like wonderment.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Tell you what; if you help me find my way to the dining area, I'll tell you a little bit about where I'm from" said Karin, smiling at the younger girl.

The younger girl nodded eagerly, and happily led Karin through the maze of hallways, all the while Karin telling the younger girl simple things about the human world. Eventually they reached a large door that Karin was almost certain she had passed before. Haruka attempted to open the door for Karin, but Karin stopped her, opening the door herself. Karin entered the dining hall, poking her head through the door curiously before laying eyes on Rukia and Byakuya who were seated in front of the dining table.

Byakuya had been waiting on Rukia's response, but Karin's entry had answered the question for her. Byakuya was rather shocked that Karin had been the one that Rukia had brought to the house, but in retrospect he realized that she was naturally the second most expected choice. Karin stepped in smiling at Rukia as she walked towards the table to join her. Karin wore a blue silk yukata with a simple cloud print. Her hair was still wet from her shower, and it clung to her face slightly. Though her appearance was slightly dishevelled Karin still managed to look strikingly beautiful. Byakuya of course, would never even imagine of acknowledging such a fact; besides the fact that he didn't care, it was hardly his place to make such overtly inappropriate observations concerning Karin's superficial appearance.

Karin turned around waving at a figure that stood by the doorway, before the door closed, and Karin went up to the table to take a seat. Karin took a seat in the middle of both Rukia and Byakuya who sat at either ends of the table.

"Rukia-san, this place is so large; I almost got lost on my way here. If it wasn't for Haruka-san you might've had to send a search party for me" Said Karin sheepishly

"Karin-san you look lovely! I'm so glad that the maids were able to find you a nice yukata. Don't you agree Nii-sama" beamed Rukia excitedly.

Byakuya stiffened at Rukia's rather casual question. How was he to respond to this? In all honesty, Karin's Yukata did look rather splendid on her. The yukata was loosely hugging the contours of her body, and showing a very modest amount of cleavage that was both respectable, yet alluring. Of course, he had no interest in the Kurosaki girl, and her comely appearance was nothing more than a false rouse meant to disguise her barbaric nature. Deciding that aloofness was his best option, Byakuya responded to Rukia's question with cold indifference.

"Kurosaki-san's choice in clothing is not a subject which holds enough importance for me to form an educated opinion on" said Byakuya.

Karin was happy that her dampened hair had covered most of her face from view as she fiddled with her chopstick. Karin could see the way Byakuya's eyes calculatedly appraised her through her peripheral vision, and she could feel her cheeks heating up. It wasn't that she was not used to being looked at by the opposite sex, but even though Byakuya was simply looking at her attire, the intensity of his stare made Karin's stomach flutter. Admittedly she had not expected anything outwardly complimentary to come out of Byakuya's mouth, but when he actually spoke, his words made her feel like an idiot for getting all worked up over him _looking_ at her.

"You don't need to make excuses for your weaknesses Byakuya. Your inability to make simple observations doesn't necessarily make you any less of a person" Karin spat in response.

"Apparently my alleged 'weakness' has affected you. Is your desire for my opinion that great?"

Karin could feel Rukia trying to kick her underneath the table, but Karin did not relent.

"Are you seriously that delusional? I'm trying to kindly let you know that you're about as socially fluid as a brick, yet your mind finds a way to twist my words into insinuating that I actually want your opinion!" Said Karin, getting slightly more irate.

Byakuya was about to reply to Karin's retort, but was interrupted when a few servants entered the room, with food and cutlery in hand. Byakuya gave Karin a look that said 'this isn't over', but didn't say a word as the servants set the table in front of them, and laid down pots that were filled with Sukiyaki, Oden, and a platter of Tonketsu.

After the servers finished setting out the dishes that were prepared, the servants went around, and began serving Rukia, Byakuya and Karin. Karin however, stopped her server from serving her saying,

"Thank you servant-san but I think I can handle it from here. After all, unlike _some_ people, my pride hasn't fallen to the level of believing that being treated like an invalid makes me superior to anyone else" while eyeing Byakuya up and down in a disapproving manner.

Byakuya glared at Karin, before taking the serving utensils away from the servants nearest him and dismissing them. Such an atrocious implication about his character was simply unacceptable. While Byakuya would not lower himself to the level of retaliating with ignorance, his pride would not allow him to simply disregard Karin's blatant affront.

"You are hereby dismissed from your duties until given further notice" he said to the confused servants.

Obeying the words of their master, the servants exited awkwardly, looking at each other in a mix of confusion and something akin to amusement. Karin smirked at Byakuya who abruptly looked away from Karin, and busied himself with serving out his own food. The atmosphere was thick with a mutual sense of hatred, as well as something else that was not quite describable, but ever present.

As the two of them continued with their silent war, Rukia sat at the other side of the dining table, trying to figure out a way to engage the both of them without making situations worse. What on Earth merited such behaviour from the two of them! Rukia was aware of the fact that Byakuya and Karin's rough start had certainly inhibited their ability to get along with one another, but she figured that after such a considerable amount of time, the both of them were capable of realizing that perhaps they had misjudged one another's character. But seeing them now, it was obvious that they both still harboured something against each other. Attempting to lighten the antagonistic mood that had taken set in the dining room, Rukia decided to bring up some of the highlights of the day.

"Karin, you did so well today! Was that what you had wanted to show me earlier today when we were training at Urahara-sans?" Said Rukia overenthusiastically.

"I'm not even sure to be honest. When I woke up out of Jinzen I didn't even know why I wanted to fight. I learned something, that I knew, but I wasn't exactly sure about what I was going to do, until I actually did it. It was just instinct I guess" Said Karin honestly, almost completely forgetting about Byakuya's existence as memories of the earlier events of the day flooded her mind.

"Ahh, instinct. I guess it is true for all Shinigami then; intuition is the force that drives us in battle. But I must say this again Karin, you were absolutely amazing! And your deduction of Daichi-sans' zanpakutou weakness was very impressive. I always knew you had a sharp mind Karin, but your performance today really did affirm it!" Said Rukia

Karin smiled at Rukia's words, humbled by the praise she was receiving for all of her efforts.

"And Nii-sama, it must have been an honour to be given the task of personally training Karin by the Soutaichou himself; how did you come to accept such a position?" Said Rukia turning her attentions to her brother"

"The duty was bestowed upon me out of… Necessity, rather than preference" said Byakuya, remembering the way that Unohana had… 'Convinced' the Captains that he was the most suitable choice as a mentor for Karin.

"Did the Taichou's choose you because of your zanpakutou's similarity to Karin's?" Rukia blurted out before she could stop herself.

She had completely forgotten about the fact that Byakuya had always secretly (only in his head) taken pride in the fact that his zanpakutou was quite unique in the soul society, and one of the Gotei 13's most versatile zanpakutou's. Despite the fact that Byakuya would never show it, it was no big secret amongst anyone who knew Byakuya well enough that he had probably been inwardly sulking ever since Karin had released her shikai at the 11th Division barracks.

Apparently, it did bother Byakuya because while he didn't say anything, the slight tenseness in his fingers and the way the tonketsu in between his chopsticks bent under the pressure, was a sure sign that Rukia had struck a nerve.

"Have you spoken to Kurosaki Ichigo on the matter of retaining his honour as a man, and formally introducing himself as a potential suitor to our family? It would be rather unpleasant for both you and myself if the elders were to catch wind of the fact that you have involved yourself in relations with another without their approval, or even their knowledge for that matter." Said Byakuya, changing the subject.

Rukia turned bright at her brothers words.

"A-ano Nii-sama, our r-relationship has not progressed to that level yet!"

Byakuya raised a questioning eyebrow at his sister, "_yet_?"

"Please excuse me, Nii-sama, Karin. I still have much work to do before I hand in my reports to Ukitake-Taichou tomorrow. Goodnight" Said Rukia as she all but ran out of the dining room.

As the door closed behind Rukia, Byakuya let his eyes wander over to Karin's direction, lingering for just a moment too long. Karin, noticed that Byakuya was staring and glared at him.

"What do you want from me?" she snapped at him.

"There is nothing you possess that could possibly be seen as desirable in my eyes" he replied coldly.

"Then why were you staring at me just now?" said Karin

"There is a staunch difference between a glance in your general direction, and a stare which comprises of an unmistakeable focus on person Kurosaki-san" said Byakuya matter-of-factly.

"Yeah exactly. You were staring. Why?"

"We will begin your training tomorrow, promptly at dawn" Said Byakuya

"Why can't this just wait until after I finish school?" said Karin in response.

"In case you are hard of hearing, the Soutaichou had made it quite clear that he expected you and I to work together whenever we were able to, up until you have completed your schooling in the human world." Said Byakuya curtly.

"That doesn't mean that we have to start immediately. I'd like to enjoy my freedom a little bit longer before I end up being stuck with you for god knows how long" Said Karin irritatedly.

"Believe me when I say that I gain no enjoyment from this arrangement either. Nevertheless, duty is duty, and I will not tarnish my reputation because of an impudent young woman's inability to comprehend the seriousness of a decree from the Soutaichou" Byakuya replied, who was for some odd reason, slightly offended that Karin thought of being trained by him in such an unfavourable light

"Who the hell are you calling impudent! I think I have every right to be unhappy about working with you. I mean seriously, look at yourself, you're unbearable!" Said Karin as she rose from her seated position, and walked out of the room in a huff.

Byakuya sat in the dining room quarters alone for more or less a good 10 seconds before Karin walked back into the room with a sheepish expression

"Eto, Byakuya… Do you think you could help me find my room?"

Byakuya headed down the hallway with Karin in tow, in search of Nobuo-Kamijouchuu. After a minute, Byakuya found Nobuo and a group of servants, involved in a rather intense discussion.

Upon noticing Byakuya and Karin's presence, the servants paused their conversation, and Nobuo promptly greeted the two.

"Kuchiki-danna, Karin-sama" said Nobuo in greeting

"Nobuo send a servant to the private dining quarters to clean up after us immediately. Also, where is Kurosaki-san's quarters located? We will be retiring for the evening, and she requires an escort as she unfamiliar with the layout of the manor" Said Byakuya as he continued heading to his personal quarters.

"Of course my lord. But would you not prefer to escort Karin-sama yourself? After all, her room adjoins to your own" said Nobuo innocuously.

Byakuya stopped in his tracks. Why would Nobuo assign Karin to a room in such close proximity to his quarters, as opposed to the typical guest quarters, unless...

"And why, would she ever be placed in a room that is part of my personal area of the manor?"

"Would it not be more convenient for you to know her in the ways that a man knows a woman, if she were within close proximity?" Said Nobuo.

Byakuya was unclear as to how, but in some way or another, his staff had misconstrued the intention behind Karin's visit. Byakuya was angry. He would never dishonour his late wife's name by allowing himself to indulge in carnal acts with a 'mistress' of any sort. And he was also angry for Karin; despite his dislike for Karin as a person, something inside of him told him that she held herself in too high an esteem to stoop to the level of acting as an escort for any man, regardless of class.

The malignant, gossip-derived assumptions awakened within Byakuya, a half a century worth of anger, bitterness, and hurt. They had thought of _her_ the same way… They had caused her to push herself beyond her limits to live up to unreasonable expectations… they had made her illness worse… Taken her away from him, and now they thought that he was about to replace her, when he wasn't even finished mourning her?

"Let me make this clear to you Hoshigaki Nobuo: No one can _ever_ be a replacement for Hisana. If any slithering eel that calls itself an employee of this estate wishes to keep their job, they will make sure that such slanderous, unfounded gossip _dies_ before it reaches their ears. I will not tolerate any rumours or gossip, which negatively affect my reputation, or the integrity of my guest." Said Byakuya, in a stone cold tone that made Nobuo shiver with reinstated fear.

"H-hai Kuchiki-danna" was all he said, before he all but disappeared as he retreated at an extremely fast pace.

Byakuya began to walk again, and Karin followed, still wrapping her mind around the events that had just occurred. Byakuya's whole body was tense with an unbelievable anger as he walked, and Karin could sense him struggling to maintain a steadiness in his reiatsu. Karin was overwhelmingly curious about who this 'Hisana' person was, but knew better than to ask Byakuya about it, especially not now. She decided perhaps later, she would ask Rukia about who she was.

Byakuya came to a stop in front of a very familiar door, and turned around to face Karin, his expression unreadable.

"This room is the one that you are staying in" he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Karin searched Byakuya's face for a moment, trying to gauge his thoughts, but to no avail. She sent him a look that is almost akin to an apology, but she retracted it, remembering how she hated being pitied when it was obvious that something had bothered her. They stood together for a moment, a deafening silence overtaking them, until Karin decided that it was best that she head to bed, because of the early start that she had ahead of her in the morning.

"Goodnight Byakuya" she said, turning away from him to open her door.

Byakuya almost wanted to thank her. He knew she was curious, but rater surprisingly, she hadn't said a single word or asked a single question that was pertaining to Hisana. He had expected a remark, a question, or some form of verbal communication pertaining to what had just transpired between him and Nobuo. When she didn't say anything, Byakuya was extremely surprised. While he still thought that Karin was a brute, his opinion of her had slightly improved; even if she was a barbarian, at least she had some semblance of tact. Hisana was always a subject that he found hard to speak about, and he had appreciated Karin's empathetic silence more than he wanted to admit. He reached out and touched her on her shoulder as she was stepping into her door, and she looked back at him in confusion.

The words _'thank you'_ were right on his tongue, but they wouldn't come as a sudden bout of unfounded doubt overtook Byakuya; perhaps she wasn't even paying attention to the conversation. Given everything she had been through earlier in the day, it was quite possible that her mind was too preoccupied for her to have taken notice of what had happened. Perhaps he had misread the look in her eyes because some sick part of him had hoped that she had some form of compassion. Feeling as though he had misinterpreted Karin's actions entirely, he retracted his hand as if burned, and quickly turned away from her saying,

"Do not forget that your training will begin tomorrow morning" before he shunpoed into nothingness.

Byakuya submersed his body into the therapeutic water of the springs, trying to gain some form of clarity. His thoughts were unorganized, and he was beginning to lose his sense of self. The day had taken its toll on him on a greater scale than he had realized, and with each passing minute, it was only getting progressively worse. He needed to rest, and he needed to get both thoughts of Karin, and his beloved late wife out of his head, before he drove himself mad with overthought.

After Byakuya felt as though he had relaxed sufficiently, he walked over to his bathrobe rack, and noticed that one of his towels and bathrobe sets were not present, but he attributed that to the fact that his maids were probably too busy gossiping about his alleged affairs, to complete their job properly. He would deal with them later.

Byakuya walked to the other side of the springs, and used the passageway that lead to his private chambers. He could've almost sworn that he saw a flash of black whisk past him as he walked towards the passage. Opening the door to his room, Byakuya threw off his towel robe, and almost automatically his brows had furrowed in annoyance as he sensed the reiatsu of the person he would've least wanted to see, given the circumstances.

"Ahahaha Byakuya-bo, you've finally grown into a man!" laughed Yoruichi as she jumped out of hiding, grinning widely as she laughed at Byakuya's unclothed form

"It has been common knowledge for quite some time now in Seireitei that you are a shameless pervert, but breaking into the private chambers of another, a noble at that, is simply unacceptable Yoruichi" Said Byakuya, as he fought the urge to hide his body from her shameless stare.

"Though, your sense of humour hasn't grown much at all" she said, as she threw Byakuya a night robe that she had been swinging about in her hand.

"What is it that you are after Yoruichi" Said Byakuya assertively to the violet haired woman as he adjusted his night robe properly.

"Just your honesty Byakuya-bo" she said teasingly.

"In regard to what exactly?" he replied.

"How you feel about Karin." She said seriously.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't fool around with me Byakuya, you know what I'm talking about; I've been watching the two of you interact since Karin arrived in Soul Society. You can't tell me that you aren't even a little fascinated with her." Said Yoruichi, as she leaned against his armoire.

"You infiltrated my manor just so that you could watch Kurosaki's sister and I interact?" Said Byakuya irately.

"ahh don't say 'infiltrate' Byakuya-bo, it makes it sound like I've been breaking and entering. I thought I was always welcome" she said, with a pout.

"Your presence in this estate has never been welcome" he replied to her.

"Well that's beside the point Byakuya. I only came over here to confirm my suspicion that you have a sweet spot for Karin" said Yoruichi, poking him in the chest.

"What evidence do you have to support your outrageous claim?" retorted Byakuya with annoyance. He did not harbour any feelings for Karin whatsoever! Yoruichi had obviously sipped on milk that had been left out for far too long.

"She is the only one who has called you by your first name without any titles whatsoever, and has not been on the receiving end of one of your lectures about 'title appropriateness'." Said Yoruichi triumphantly

"She does no—"

Byakuya stopped midsentence, as he remembered how just a moment ago how Karin had addressed him by his first name as she bid him goodnight.

"It would be pointless to correct her. Not unlike you, her hard hearing would make my incessant correction rather futile" he said in defense of himself.

"But that fact has never stopped you from correcting countless others. Face it Byakuya, she's attracted your attention" said Yoruichi as she walked over to him and ruffled his wet hair.

Slapping her hands away from his hair, Byakuya turned away from her and rubbed his temples in irritation.

"I would never dishonour Hisana's memory by abandoning my devotion to her in favour of chasing after a young woman who I have no interest in, just as she harbours no interest in me"

"So this is a fear of rejection type of thing now is it?" Said Yoruichi as she grinned knowingly at Byakuya

"You are mistaken." He snapped.

"You know Byakuya, honouring Hisana's memory doesn't mean you have to be alone for the rest of your life. If you continue like this, you'll never be able to put her passing to rest. She wouldn't want you to be like this"

"You do not have any right to assert what Hisana would have or would not have liked. While I witnessed her fight for her life, you were busy frolicking in the human world with that idiot scientist of yours. You do not know my Hisana, therefore you cannot make assumptions about her character" he spat coldly, raising his voice.

Yoruichi raised her hands up in surrender and sighed.

"Alright, alright, I didn't mean to upset you Byakuya. I'll be on my way. I don't have the time to try and convince a man in denial, I have _company_ tonight" she said as she winked at Byakuya, and disappeared in a flash of shunpo, her laugh echoing in the room.

Byakuya walked towards his bed, and slipped under the canopy, rubbing his temples in irritation. Leave it to Yoruichi to significantly worsen his headache. Lying down, Byakuya closed his eyes and willed his mind to sleep, doing his utmost to ignore the pangs of self-doubt and his pulsating headache.

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**A/N: That's all folks! I hoped you enjoyed it. This chapter was mediocre IMO, but I wasn't feeling very motivated when I rewrote it. There will be some Lemony material in the next chapter, but I will put a disclaimer at the beginning of the scene, and an A/N (if you guys want) for when the scene ends. This chapter was originally meant to be sort of a filler, and it turned out that way. Next chapter there will be some more interactions with Karin and Byakuya as well as some awkward sauciness ;)**

**Also, I have a question for you guys; there is an event that will take place a couple of chapter from now, with another pairing besides Byakuya and Karin, but it will relate to them. I have been toying with the idea of expanding this fanfiction into a multi-pairing fiction, or simply continuing the other Ideas I had for the multiple pairing in the story (as well as others that I haven't announced as of yet) in their own separate little ff's. What do you guys think. Also, what are some Crack/Canon pairings that you're absolutely in love with, and would lie to see more FF's about. And what are some FF's that you absolutely hate!**

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_Reviewer Response Time!_

cherrys-and-strawberrys : Thank you very much for your review, sorry I didn't update soon /3

Mysticfolly: Thanks for reviewing!

Glowing Blue: Thank you for reviewing! As for the Yuzu/Toshiro thing, I can understand why you wouldn't like the couple. I know Yuzu comes off as weak, but I think that's partially because she never got any time to grow and shine as a character. I wanna try and expand on her and make her into a more dynamic character that is capable of defending herself, thus the reason I made her begin training with Yoruichi and Kisuke

Alierana: Thank you for your review, and you should definitely publish! I was the same way (I'm terribly shy sometimes), but I finally decided to grow some balls and throw my idea out there. I'd love to read your story if you ever decide to publish, and while I'm not an official Beta, I'd be happy to take a shot at proofing your work for you.

Blue Letters: Thankyou for reviewing! And yeah, I tend to be a very longwinded writer, sometimes in a day I'll write 80% of a chapter, and I'll spend the rest of the days until posting time proof reading. Also, don't worry about how long you've been writing, as long as you're passionate the story will come together. This story is my first shot at actually writing a story of any kind, so this kind of stuff is totally foreign to me. I mean, besides the little story assignments I had back in school, I've never actually done any of this. Your grammar is much better than a lot of writers' on this website, so I encourage you to continue with your stories, they have too much potential to waste!

LanierShazar: Thankyou for reviewing!

bfat81 : Thank you for your review, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well

ca99oline: I know, I know, HitsuYuzu may not sound all that sensible, but have some faith! ByaKarin sounded even weirder when I first got the Idea! I think the two of them have a lot of potential! As for HitsuHina fans… Let's just say, I've seen enough of their rants on forums to know the type of demographic that pairing typically attracts… -_-'

mypendesarapen: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you appreciate my efforts.

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Preview for next chapter:

_He in an enclosed little glade, with a small waterfall that ran into a tiny pool that flowed continuously into a stream. The little area was surrounded thickly with Willows and honeysuckle. Byakuya was trying to remember what he had come here for, but the more he thought on it, the farther the inkling of thought went from his mind. He had some to see someone, but he couldn't remember who. A hazy picture in his head of the person began to dissipate. Officially having no clue of what his purpose there was, Byakuya roamed the glade, surveying the perimeter until his eyes fell upon her…_


	7. Chapter 7: Sleight of Hand

**Let me just say, that I SINCERELY apologize for the long breaking between posts! I have been so busy!**

** .**Please READ before you read**.**

Alright, so I have received quite a few messages from my readers asking me why I've taken so long to upload another chapter... Unfortunately, I didn't get married, or win the lottery, or anything else nearly as amazing and exciting as all of that (forever alone... and poor *sigh*) The reason for my long period of absence from is because I recently moved!

I only just finished settling in, and as soon as I finished getting everything in order, I hopped on the computer to try and get these chapters ready for your reading pleasures!

I appreciate everyone's concern, and I got a lot of kind messages from people, asking me if I was alright. You guys are the most amazing readers, and thank you for your concern!

I am NOT giving up on this FF. It may have started out as a random idea, but over these past few months, all the kind responses I've gotten with this story have touched me and motivated me to keep writing. I think both me the author, and you my wonderful readers have fallen in love with this story, and I don't think it's fair to any of us if I stop (Yes, I know i'm being unnecessarily Mushy). Although i'm not especially happy with this chapter, it does contain a lot of foreshadowing, especially in Karin's part. During the month that has passed since I last posted, I had a lot of time to reflect on the direction that I wanted to take this FF. It led to me staying up all last night and tonight ripping apart my pre-written chapters, and starting from ground zero, because I felt that the original chapters made the pace of the story a lot faster than I wanted it to be.

This chapter has a lot of Dreams in it, and I apologize if it's very boring, but the next chapter will be filled with a lot more action and ByaKarin interaction. The first dream is Bordering Lemony, and although it is M in nature I'm not going to change the rating of the story yet because this scene is very short, and does not reflect the overall content of this FF. I've put a disclaimer over the **FIRST SET** of italicized writing, so that anyone who does not want to read M-content may skip over it. The **SECOND SET** of italicized writing is another dream, but **do not** skip over that one, as it is important to this chapter.

I have a lot of announcements to make , but I will leave them at the bottom of the story along with all my viewer responses and other miscellaneous ramblings.

On to chapter 7!

**Fun little fact: we've officially hit the **100 page** mark!**

I Do Not Own Bleach

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****WARNING:M-ish Scene (Nothing overtly descriptive, but still)** A/N: If you're not comfortable with writing which ventures into the Sourer side of fanfiction, you might as well skip over all of the italicized writing**

_He was in an enclosed little glade, with a small waterfall that ran into a tiny pool that flowed continuously into a stream. The little area was densely surrounded with Willows and honeysuckle. Byakuya was trying to remember what he had come here for, but the more he thought on it, the farther the inkling of memory went from his mind. He had come to see someone, but he couldn't remember who. A hazy picture in his head of the person began to dissipate, as he mentally clawed at the memory, desperate for purchase. Officially having no clue of what his purpose here was, Byakuya roamed the glade, surveying the perimeter until his eyes fell upon her. _

_Karin lay down propped on her elbows, body covered with bruises, and a gash on her thigh that was bleeding profusely. Without really thinking about it Byakuya rushed to her side in a haste-fully graceful bout of Shunpo and summoned healing kido to his hands. He attended the large gash first, stopping the bleeding and mostly healing the wound before he decided to quickly heal the other minor injuries on her body. He started on her arms, healing the minor cuts and bruises that were scattered across them. After he had adequately healed her extremities, his focus then came to her midsection that appeared as though it had been dampened by a substance that he feared might have been blood. Byakuya looked into her eyes for permission, and when he found nothing but nervousness, he sighed and decided to voice his reasoning._

"_I must open your Shihakusho in order to treat any wounds you may have sustained on your abdominal area" he said to her_

_Her eyes widened in what appeared to be fear, and she shook her head at his request._

"_I can't... I-I'm not wearing bindings underneath my Shihakusho" she said in response to him._

"_Regardless of what is under you Shihakusho, I would have to remove them anyway in order to properly check your wounds" He said to her._

_Grudgingly she nodded in agreement and removed her arms from her chest area in order for him to unloose the bind that held her Shihakusho together. Byakuya untied her Shihakusho, and took either side of it in his hands and pulled the garment apart to expose taut porcelain skin that covered over a feminine, yet toned abdomen where he found a small gash that was bleeding only slightly. Despite finding what he was looking for, Byakuya's eyes wandered over Karin's canvas-like upper body, until they met two considerably sized breasts that were bound by an alluring ebony lace bra that exposed the top portions of her porcelain mounds. Against his own will, Byakuya felt his member twinge slightly at the sight of Karin in such a vulnerable state. Looking up at Karin's face, he saw her blushing heavily, most likely from noticing his rather… attentive gaze. When Byakuya examined her face more closely, he noticed that her lips and cheek were quite bruised, and he absentmindedly put a glowing hand to her face, and stroked her cheek as he healed the affected areas. She looked at him, her eyes filled with a number of emotions as she kept her eyes locked on his own. He took his hand from her face, and placed it over the gash that had covered the lower part of her stomach area, and ever so gently, he pumped a surge of kido into the area._

"_Ahhh" She moaned erotically as arched and her head flew back involuntarily._

_The airy quality of her voice as she moaned did something to Byakuya. It was wrong and he knew it, but the sound of her voice reverberating in his ear stirred the masculine energy within him, and he couldn't resist the urge to send another, more powerful surge into Karin's body. Another soft moan escaped her lips as she revelled in the warm tingling sensation of Byakuya's kido as it caused a vibration that spread to her nether regions. Her soft moans were ever so enticing, and Byakuya longed to lose his inhibitions, and make sweet love to the innocent looking creature that lay before him, in an opportunist state that he would be a fool to not take advantage of. However, though he couldn't remember what exactly it was, there was something that prevented him from going along with his carnal whim. It made him feel guilty, dirty for even being in the situation that he was in. Disgusted with himself for abusing his position for his own pleasure, Byakuya rose from his kneeling position and attempted to walk away from Karin, but was stopped when she grabbed onto his hand._

"_Touch me, Byakuya." She said softly, her expression nervous and unsure, but determined nonetheless._

"… _I cannot. It is inappropriate" he said to her, trying to loosen his hand from her grip, but hardly putting in the necessary effort._

_Karin pulled Byakuya's hand toward hers, holding it to her breasts and kissing it. "Please, touch me" she said, almost begging._

_The pleading look in her eyes, and her scantily clad appearance was almost too much for Byakuya to bear. The part of his mind that resisted the notion of taking her right then and there was growing progressively smaller by the millisecond. As if reading his mind, Karin stood up and walked right into Byakuya, going on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear,_

"_I want you__ Byakuya__, and I know you want me just as desperately" she said airily as she shoved a slender hand down his hakama and stroked his hardened member._

_That was all it took to permanently rid him of any second thoughts. Byakuya took control, dominating her lips in a fierce, rushed kiss. He wasted no time at all in removing his clothing, the desire to have her body flushed against his nearly too great. He lay her down on the ground and wasted no time in ridding her of the remainder of her own clothing as well_

_From the moment he had entered her, his world had been blurred in a haze of sheer ecstasy and adrenaline. Her sighs and moans were his motivation as he drilled into her with relentless passion. His entire body was shaking with an anxiousness to bury himself as deep within him as her tight confines would allow. Every last stroke was as intense as the last, and he could feel himself reaching his limit as the time wore on. He could feel her release as her inner walls clenched around him in erratic spasms and her hand fisted his flowing hair as she let out a final moan that was considerably louder and stronger than the rest. The intense spasms of her feminine walls drove him over the edge, and with one final stroke he released himself within her, shuddering at the sensation. He lay on top of her for a moment stroking her hair as they caught their breaths…_

Byakuya jumped out of his sleep, sitting upright and still breathing heavily. He cursed himself under his breath. For the umpteenth night in a row he had dreamt about her, this dream however, was much more vivid… And graphic than the others. It had felt so incredibly real that Byakuya could still almost feel _her_ body writhing beneath his own. Frustrated, Byakuya ran a hand through his hair as he groaned at his body's inability to control itself. For over half a century he had been able to control his body's natural response to his abstinence with relative ease, but since Karin had come into his life, his control had dwindled down to little more than him waking up every morning, feeling as though he had wet himself. Byakuya slipped out of his bed, and undressed, taking his soiled clothing with him to the springs, with the intention of washing them himself to hide any evidence of his involuntary submission to his primal urges.

It was still dark when Byakuya had finished his bath and headed back to his room. Dressing himself in a fresh pair of hakama, Byakuya made his way back to his bed, and lay on top of his eloquent silk bedding. While initially intending to head back to sleep, Byakuya found himself… Hesitant, (because '_afraid'_ doesn't exist in a Kuchiki's vocabulary) to head back to sleep lest he find himself dreaming of something even more _lewd_ and obscene. Sitting upright in his bed, Byakuya mentally weighed the logic in going to sleep at such an early hour of the morning with his other, more illogical option which was to find some way to keep himself mentally sated until sunrise, where he would then continue with his day, conducting himself as he normally would have, unfortunately at the cost of several hours of much needed sleep. Irrationality won as Byakuya found himself walking out of his private chambers, and into his gardens through the door at the other side of the bedroom.

The sky was a transitioning hue of purplish-blue, as the ever faint sign of the sun's slow, but definite arrival lightened the sky. Beautiful Sakura trees and various shrubs enveloped the lush garden, which seemed to go on forever. Byakuya's Garden was different from the other gardens in the manner, in that it was the only one that was not cared and kept by the mansions caretakers. Byakuya had enforced an absolute no-entry policy to anyone other than himself without his explicit consent, and even so, few ever saw what it really looked like. As a result, the garden was not as perfectly manicured as the rest of the mansions gardens, or as pampered. But Byakuya liked it this way. It was natural, unforced and wild. The one aspect of his life that wasn't under constant calculated and precise control. He could be himself, the unrepressed version of Byakuya that nowadays was virtually the stuff of whispered, unfathomable legends to anyone who hadn't known him as a child. It was the one place where even Yoruichi couldn't bother him.

Byakuya inhaled the scent of cherry blossoms and morning dew and exhaled audibly as he made his way through the foliage of his garden sanctuary. Byakuya advanced until he was right in front of the river that ran through his garden, and sat cross legged underneath one of the trees that grew at the rivers bank. Getting into a meditative stance Byakuya closed his eyes and focused all his energy on trying to attain some semblance of inner peace. Even though he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, Byakuya reasoned that the closest thing to sleep would be meditation. Seconds turned to minutes, and yet no matter how Byakuya tried to concentrate on it, relaxation evaded him. For some strange reason little things like his still-damp hair resting against his bare back irritated him to no something as trivial as that would never have affected him that way, but Byakuya felt strangely more sensitive to irrelevant interferences. In an attempt to alleviate some the adhesive quality the water gave his hair, Byakuya shook his raven mane to get out some of the extra water that made his hair stick to his back. It helped remedy the situation some, but his relief ended up only being temporary.

As soon as Byakuya felt like he began to make progress, his mind began to wander into the most absurd of places. His mind went from blank into thoughts about paperwork, and maintenance fees for the mansion, all the way until he found himself musing over his and Karin's interactions last evening. How perplexing was it that his servants would automatically assume that she had been his mistress? Byakuya pondered. It was quite a bold assumption especially considering that Byakuya had never exhibited signs of being the type that would harbor concubines in his court. Even as popular as he had been with many of the female nobles, aristocrats and socialites in his social circles, a very select few had ever been fortunate enough to have his reciprocated interest. And after Byakuya met Hisana, no other woman had ever been capable of making him stray away from her. Hisana was everything in Byakuya's eyes; she was beautiful, level-headed, quiet and devoted. Karin was absolutely nothing like her, and it was puzzling to Byakuya why even his most trusted servants would see potential in Karin as any remote form of replacement for Hisana. Perhaps they hadn't seen enough of her barbaric side. In the coming months, possibly years that Karin would spend under Byakuya's tutelage; they would soon see the Viking that hid behind her feminine figure and radiant smile. _Radiant_?

Byakuya was snapped out of his reverie by the strange choice of words that had appeared in his silent musing. Looking up, Byakuya saw that the sky had lightened considerably and he could the sun beginning to rise on the horizon, the moon's presence fading considerably. Byakuya realized that he had inadvertently wasted at least two hours of much-needed sleeping time, on frivolous thoughts. Aggravated with himself, Byakuya stood up, running a hand through his hair and pacing in frustration. All he wanted to do was relax, why was that so difficult for him!

"_You are too quick to anger, Byakuya-sama"_ Chided a voice reverberating through Byakuya's head.

"You are not exactly the model of level-headedness either, _Senbonzakura_"

"… _That is beside the point; you cannot be angered with yourself for something which is only natural and thus indivertible"_

"_I do not understand senbonzakura… What pray-tell is natural about the predicament that I have found myself in? Even the most intimate confines of my mind have been invaded by that barbaric woman – in the most inappropriate and illogical of ways might I add – and yet, you are insinuating that such an occurrence is natural and unavoidable?" Argued Byakuya, unable to see what Senbonzakura was getting at._

"_Byakuya-sama, you have never been one that was hard-pressed to see that which is right before you in broad daylight. I am more than certain that you see and feel it. You may not recognize it for what it is, either because you have been away from it so long, or because your foolish pride keeps you in denial, but it is most certainly there"_ Said Senbonzakura enigmatically.

One of the few things Byakuya hated about his Zanpakutou was that Senbonzakura was aggravatingly vague whenever they interacted with each other whether through jinzen, or the regular conversations that they had in Byakuya's mind while he was still conscious. This same vagueness is what made learning Shikai and Bankai so difficult for Byakuya. What the hell was 'it' anyway; His swiftly developing hatred for Karin? Fatigue from weeks of sleep deprived nights? Byakuya wasn't sure, and at this point he couldn't be bothered to scrape his brain for an answer.

"_You speak in riddles Senbonzakura. I am not in the correct psychological frame necessary to put up with your conundrum-like speech pattern, nor am I willing to exert the cognitive force needed to organize my mind into such a frame"_ said Byakuya, fed up with his zanpakutou spirits' vague responses.

Another thing Byakuya hated with his zanpakutou spirit; Senbonzakura was freakishly talented at ignoring Byakuya's inquiries. It really was a miracle that Byakuya had managed to develop a close enough relationship with him to even learn how to spar with senbonzakura. Bitterly accepting a verbal defeat at the hands of his zanpakutou spirit, Byakuya strode back into his quarters.

Byakuya paused mid-stride in his advancement to his bedroom; remembering that he had a previously arranged commitment, Byakuya decided that he would wake his ward so that they could begin their training. Opening the door that connected their rooms together, Byakuya entered the room cautiously, surveying its state. On the other side of the room, Byakuya spotted Karin's sleeping form and advanced towards the bed, intent on waking the slumbering woman. When Byakuya reached Karin's bedside he outstretched a hand to shake her awake, but his hand stopped in its progression when the woman's face twisted unpleasantly and a grunt of resistance escaped the confines of her lips.

What on Earth was she dreaming about? Letting his hand fall back to his side, Byakuya allowed his curious side to get the better of him as he watched the young woman talk in her sleep.

_A large park; the same one she used to frequent when she was an elementary school student. The one with the soccer field, and the swing set that her mother would take her to when she was very young. Karin stood in the middle of the now empty park, confused as to how and when she had gotten there, after she had entered high school, she rarely ever visited that park, normally meeting up after school with her old teammates at the school campus' soccer field. Curious to see if she would encounter another person in the park Karin wandered past the soccer field over to the playground junction, drawn to the region by the brightly coloured swing set that she had favoured in her younger days. As Karin approached the swing set, an eerily familiar scene began to unfold before her eyes. A little girl, maybe only about 4 or 5 years of age was running towards the sandbox with a young boy, about the same age running alongside her. The young pair ran all the way up towards the red swing set that Karin was occupying causing Karin to step back in surprise, when her mind registered exactly who the children were. _

'_Yutaka…' thought Karin to herself, as her eyes focused on the young boy with the Brunette hair that was running with an all too familiar little girl with big grey eyes and short black hair._

"_Taka-kun, I win this time, so you have to push my swing!" Said the little girl, grey eyes flashing with pride in her accomplishment, as she wiped stray strands of short raven hair out of her face._

"_But Karin-chan! I touched the swing set first!" Retorted the younger boy indignantly, turning his body away from the girl entirely._

_In the background, Karin watched the scene unfold, letting out a soft giggle and allowing a smile to make its way across her lips as she fondly remembered the scene that was playing out before her. It was one of the last few memories that she had of those days before her mother passed away, and was certainly one of her most precious. _

_The young girl stared at her brown haired companion as she held the chain connecting the swing to its base thoughtfully. Making up her mind, the little girl walked towards the young boy and grabbed onto his hand, dragging him over to the swing she had intended to occupy._

"_You can go first, Taka-kun" Karin said _

"_Really Karin-chan?" asked Yutaka, surprised._

_Karin nodded in response._

_The young boy tried not to look too excited as he sat down on the swing and waited for Karin to begin pushing him. Karin got behind him, raising her small hands to his back, and began to exert a fair amount of force into her tiny arms as she began to push the boy forward. As the young boy sat down on the swing being pushed by a tiny Karin, he suddenly felt a bit guilty about having her push him on the swing-set._

"_ne, Karin-chan, I don't think you should be pushing me" the boy said reluctantly as he rested his feet down in the sand._

"_Nani, what's wrong 'Taka-kun?" said Karin worriedly. _

"_A-ano, it's just that, I don't think girls should push boys on swing sets. Touchan says that boys have to take care of girls because one day a girl is going to be a Kaachan for my kodomo. That means I have to take care of you and push you on the swing set!"_

_Karin furrowed her brows at her brunette friend's reasoning._

"_That's just silly! That means that every girl you take care of has to be your Tsuma! That's impossible Taka-kun!"_

_Yutaka blushed furiously at the Karin's brutally frank words, and quickly tried to defend his point, "I'm not trying to take care of them all! I'm just trying to take care of you, baka!"_

"_Why do you want to take care of me?" asked the girl, looking at her companion quizzically._

"_Don't you want to be my Tsuma one day?" said the boy, answering the girls question with another question._

_The young girl looked up into her companions eyes for a brief moment, about to utter a response, when a familiar voice captured their attention._

"_Karin-chan, Yutaka-kun, it's time to go!" Said a woman as she stood at the end of the sandbox, her strawberry blonde hair cascading over her shoulders in a neat braid. Right next to her stood a small blonde hair girl, who was tightly clutching onto a lion plushie, as if her very life depended on it._

_Both children twisted their faces in obvious disapproval, the young girl being the first to utter her contempt with having to leave the playground._

"_But Kaachan, we didn't even get to go on the swings yet!" the girl said pouting._

"_You'll get to go on it some other time Karin-chan, but we really do have to go now if I want to get dinner finished. Besides, Chihiro will be coming over to pick up Yutaka-kun soon, and I want him to be showered and fed before he leaves._

"_Masaki-san, can't I stay over at your house for one more night, please?" said the boy looking up at the older woman with pleading eyes._

_The woman smiled at the boy's request, and knelt down so she was at eye level with him, ruffling his hair. "But Yutaka-kun, don't you think Chihiro would be worried about you? I'm sure she misses you a lot seeing that you've been gone the whole weekend" she said before she continued, "Tell you what Yutaka-kun; after we get home I'll talk to Chihiro, and we'll plan a picnic for the next time you come to visit. We'll even bring along Ichigo-kun and Tatsuki-chan with us" the woman promised._

_The young boy, eyes brightening at the idea of having a picnic nodded in agreement before grabbing the raven haired girl and taking off towards the direction of the Kurosaki household. The woman smiled at the young boy's enthusiasm as she stood up, taking the blonde haired girl by the hand and walking down the path as she watched the young boy and girl race off, busily chatting away their plans for the next time the boy came to visit._

_Karin stood in the distance, watching the woman and the children with a deep sadness resurfacing within her; she didn't need the dream to play out the events that would happen afterward. Karin was on the verge of tears as she observed her mother and her younger self interact. Life was so fleeting and unpredictable; rarely giving indication of the drastic twists and turns that it would make along the way._

_It seemed as though everything began to get darker as Masaki walked further away from her, the very picture of contentedness and serenity. Karin wiped away a stray droplet that threatened to escape as she watched her mother disappear off into the distance. Soon Karin's surroundings began to take on—no, they weren't taking on anything, she realized. Everything around Karin began to disappear into complete obscurity and nothingness, the only distinguishable entity being Masaki's slowly disappearing figure which shone like a candle lost in the black of the night. And soon, not even Masaki's form was visible anymore. Karin began to feel a spike of fear impale her, its irrational venom seeping beneath her skin and enveloping her entire being. _

_Karin had not feared the dark since she was a child, and even then, Karin had never once feared what was hidden within the dark. Hiding was for the weak, for cowards who weren't brave enough to state their intentions, because they knew that they were dishonourable. And sometimes – Karin had learned later in life – the darkness hid some of the most beautiful and coveted treasures, that the light of the sun, and the beings who relied on it to see, were simply not worthy of the privilege of viewing. With this rationalization realized from the time she was young, Karin had never been able to truly fear what remained hidden in the dark. No, what frightened her was the concept of the darkness holding __nothing__. Nothingness was suffocating and overpowering; true blindness. The mere thought of intense emptiness was enough to make Karin's blood run cold. Surveying her surroundings both physically and spiritually, Karin couldn't see or feel anything. Terror sunk in even deeper. Eyes wide, Karin did the only thing that her mind could rationalize as a wise option. Run. _

_She took off, heading straight in the direction that Masaki had taken off in, hoping that she would be able to catch up to her if she ran hard enough. Karin pressed on with all the speed she could muster up, but sometime after Karin began her tireless run, a blood chillingly rational, and frightening thought crossed her mind: What if Masaki couldn't see her? Karin did not doubt that was the case, seeing that despite her relatively close proximity to her younger self and Yutaka, they didn't so much as look in her direction despite the fact that Karin had giggled considerably at the conversation that her younger self and her companion had had. What use was there running after someone who couldn't even detect your presence? With that realization, all of the energy seemingly ran out of Karin, and she stopped moving altogether in the middle of the darkness. Karin felt stupid; she had been sprinting like an athlete, simply to catch up to her mother, who couldn't even tell she existed… Had she matured in the last 13 years of her life at all? If Karin was not as overwhelmed as she was with the situation she had found herself in, Karin would have berated herself for acting so impulsively out of character._

_Karin's legs collapsed beneath her, and she sat on the floor of nothingness, wide-eyed as her body numbed with the overwhelming sensation of void. Suddenly she found herself being dragged deep within the depths of the darkness completely devoid of sensation… to overwhelmed to scream, Karin let her herself be dragged through the darkness, silently accepting whatever fate lay ahead of her. All of a sudden… there was light. An eerie light that radiated with all that was malignant and suspicious. However, the light represented the presence of another being which to Karin – malevolent being or not – was far better than being left alone in the lifeless darkness. And then a man began to materialize in that light, towering above her with his considerable height. He was quite handsome; Karin had to give him that. Long brown hair accentuated sharp, angular facial features that were warmed by the seemingly infinite depth of honey coloured hues that promised a world of kindness and warmth. The man looked at her and smiled at her with a smile so inviting that she almost couldn't resist. He outstretched his hand, and without really thinking Karin put her hand in his, so entranced in his inviting smile that she hardly realized the noxious aura that radiated off of him. As he brought her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her she suddenly tensed. In the man's arms there was no warmth, not even cold, lethal intent. There was only void; an infinite expanse of void that was more frighteningly deafening than even the darkness that she had been running from. She tried to pry herself out of the man's grasp, but to no avail. Every fighting action only cause him to pull her closer to him, until she could almost feel herself being sucked into nothingness. A tear began to roll down her face as Karin hopelessly felt herself being lost in the midst of the void she had found herself in. Karin could vaguely feel the caress of a slightly calloused hand wiping away the tear droplets that stained her face…_

Suddenly Karin was expelled from her dreamland, her eyes fluttering open and her right hand instinctively going to her left cheek. The lingering sensation of a hand against her cheek, caused Karin to rub the spot thoughtfully. It had only been a dream and Karin knew that, but the caress that wiped away her very _real_ tears felt too real to simply be a sensation that her overactive mind had simulated. It was comforting, warm, a stark contrast to the frightening nothingness that had threatened to consume her. Part of Karin almost wanted to believe that it was real but in the end Karin's logical side chided her for allowing herself to become so caught up in a dream to the point that she'd want to believe that some of the events that occurred in her dream were a result of outside interference. _"What am I, stupid?"_ Karin thought as she caught herself looking around the room to see if anyone was there. _"I mean, who the hell would come into this room just to wipe my tears, Byakuya?"_ she thought dryly. At that Karin let out a small laugh as she pictured a rather flamboyant Byakuya walking around with a handkerchief, wiping away the tears of every downtrodden maiden in Seireitei, murmuring words of encouragement to each and every one of them. After Karin had laughed at that image for all the mirth that it had, Karin decided to get up and at least try to get ready for the day.

Over in the room across from her, a certain raven haired man was beginning to question his sanity.

Byakuya rubbed his temples irately, trying to find a justifiable reason for his actions. He should have just sent Nobuo to wake her, or one of the irritatingly subservient maids who tended to wait outside of his quarters at freakishly early hours of the morning, waiting for him to ring the Kido bell, signaling that he required their attention. The maids were well past the point of irritating, and Byakuya had resigned himself to simply finding their actions amusing. The fact that they were eager to please was not what Byakuya found irritating. No, Byakuya was a stickler for hard work, and when he knew someone was doing their job well, he made sure that they were rewarded for their efforts (thus Nobuo's extravagant salary and maintained position as head of the manors staff). What irritated Byakuya about the maids' zealousness was the fact that it was fueled by entirely the wrong reasons. Byakuya was convinced that every last one of them had developed a Cinderella complex. They all seemed to believe that if they could manage to get Byakuya's attention by doing as much as possible to satisfy his every whim, that eventually they would be able to seduce him into marrying them. It nearly made Byakuya sick to think that they had based these hopes all on the fact that Hisana had once been like them. Did they think so poorly of her? That she weaseled her way into his heart through seduction and the use of immoral and degrading tactics? Did everyone really regard their love as trivial? He had been physically and sexually attracted to her yes, but Hisana was far beyond a simple object of gratification. Hisana was like a reservoir of wisdom, charisma, innocence and clarity; she was a fleeting angel who had passed through his life and changed it forever. It irritated Byakuya to no end that the silly maids outside of his door would attempt to make a mockery of what they had shared, by simplifying his and Hisana's love into nothing but a typical lord and peasant Lust-story.

That all aside, giving blasphemers of his love for Hisana a second of his attention was far less unfaithful than some of the other things that Byakuya had at least thought about, dreamt about, or physically did… He was committing treason, for a woman he could hardly stand!

Byakuya stared disbelievingly at his hands as he remembered how he had held the sleeping woman when she began to thrash about violently in her sleep, and stroked her cheek gently as he tried to comfort her, for which reason he was still quite unsure. Perhaps it was just a single incidence, but it seemed so unnatural for a girl like Kurosaki to suffer from nightmares. The fear and anxiousness that radiated off of her was so strong that it was palpable in the air. Whatever she had been dreaming about was so fierce that she began to leak small spurts of reiatsu into the room. The elemental quality of her spirit began to manifest itself in the effect her reiatsu on the environment of the room as the temperature in the room noticeably rose, and Karin began to sweat profusely. Soon she was thrashing about, making little noises that almost sounded as if she were trying to scream, but she couldn't open her mouth loud enough to let it out. Byakuya wasn't sure when or why he did it, but he had somehow ended up on Karin's bed, holding her and trying to calm her down. When tears began to flow freely from her closed eyes, Byakuya had brought a hand to her cheek, wiping away a tear. It was then that Byakuya sensed the change in her breathing pattern and saw the change in her facial expression, signalling that she was coming to. Realizing how inexplicably startling his actions would be to the young woman, Byakuya all but fled the room, disappearing in a whir of Shunpo that surprised even him.

What was he thinking! For Kami's sake, he wasn't even dressed decently! he thought, as he looked down at himself accounting his lack of a shirt. Perhaps it was the stress finally getting to him, or sleep deprivation, or both, but Byakuya felt strangely out of character as he made a mental recount of his actions in the past few weeks. It was obvious that he was losing it, and he was at the point where he realized if he didn't stop his strange behaviour, he'd end up losing any and all respect for himself.

"_I will not betray Hisana by allowing myself to trample everything that our love symbolized by pursuing lust driven emotions that hold no real substance"_ thought Byakuya resolutely as he began pacing the floor in his room, determined to get back in control of his actions. Besides, he reasoned, it was obvious that Karin would never reciprocate any lust driven… _urges_ that he had involuntarily managed to harbor for her_. "The girl is obviously smitten by Hitsugaya-taichou, and she appears to be at least somewhat virtuous in terms of her moral integrity; thus, any prospect of a potential triste is highly improbable. Moreover even if she were willing, such involvement with an apprentice goes against every principal that I have ever adhered to…"_ Oh kami. Byakuya mentally berated himself for thinking so unfaithfully. Only a second ago, he was reconfirming his devotion to his late wife, and here he was trying to rationalize his involuntarily developed fixation with a woman he couldn't stand! He was a sick man; he was betraying his wife's memory and the entire gotei 13 just by thinking entertaining foolish thoughts. They entrusted him with teaching Karin how to wield her zanpakutou, and he had preoccupied himself with weighing the probability of her having an attraction to him!

Byakuya was so enveloped in reprimanding himself that he almost didn't notice the knock on the door, and a voice requesting entrance.

"Kuchiki-danna, may I enter, if your honourableness permits me?" said the voice

Snapping out of his trance of self-reprimanding, upon recognizing the voice Byakuya replied to the person outside the door, "You may enter, Hoshigaki Nobuo"

With that Nobuo entered Byakuya's chambers, hand clenched together as he walked towards Byakuya who was now sitting on a lounger with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Is there a reason for your presence Hoshigaki Nobuo?" said Byakuya, brow slightly raised.

"Hai, Kuchiki-danna. It has come to my attention that you have not informed the staff of your dining plans for the evening. Will Rukia-dono and/or Karin-dono be joining you? And if so, are there any specific meal requests that you have, or do you have no preference in particular?" Said the elderly man.

Normally, the Kuchiki prince would have applauded Nobuo's keen sense of foresight that was always as sharp as ever, but at the moment Byakuya was so preoccupied that Nobuo's questions didn't register as much other than trivial wastes of time. A lengthy moment of silence passed as Nobou patiently waited for Byakuya's reply.

"Kuchiki-danna?" said Nobou questioningly when a considerable amount of time had passed and Byakuya still hadn't answered his question.

Byakuya realized that he had zoned out completely and his head servant still stood before him, awaiting a reply. If Byakuya was anything but a Kuchiki noble he would have shaken his head rapidly, to try and restore some semblance of alertness in his mind; however, his pride would simply not allow him to do such… in the presence of others, at least. Being the man that he was, Byakuya resisted the urge, in favour of looking Nobuo in the eyes, flawlessly feigning the appearance of a man in heavy contemplation on the question that he had been asked, and replied smoothly,

"Both my sister and Kurosaki-san will be joining me this evening. In regard to my preferences for the evening, I have none that I believe will not be repetitive to relay to the chef, who is already aware of my general preferences. Perhaps you should consult my sister or Kuchiki-san in regard to their preference for their evening meal"

"I will do that right away Kuchiki-dono" said Nobuo as he bowed and made his way to the door to leave.

Suddenly remembering something important, Byakuya called Nobuo, stopping him before he exited the room.

"Nobuo, before you leave" Said Byakuya, grabbing the elderly man's attention

"Yes, Kuchiki-danna?"

"Escort Kurosaki-san to the compound grounds as soon as she has finished breaking her fast. Ensure that she is dressed in standard Shinigami attire" was all he said to the older man before he dismissed him.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, that's it for chapter 7!

This is far from my best, but it's not the worst writing I've ever done.

First, let me address something i'm positive will show up in the reviews: Byakuya's Dream.

Byakuya's wet dream was practically drowning in OOCness. Trust me, this was intentional and I know that Karin would never beg like that, and Byakuya's reactions are two shots short of Stoic treason to the highest degree. But it's a Wet dream people, it's supposed to make little to no sense, and the person/persons in the dream are supposed to be completely different from how they are in reality

I know Byakuya may seem a little OOC or inconsistent, both in regard to his thought processes and his actions, but i'm kind of trying to go for that.

When people are around, Byakuya is this seemingly calculative, immaculate, stoic individual, who isn't capable of failure. IMO I think this is all a facade. I have this inkling of suspicion that behind closed doors when the stoic mask is taken off, Byakuya is as normal and flawed as the rest of us, and he is conflicted just like anyone else when trying to balance his natural desires, with his own sense of duty/justice. We all know that Byakuya as a character throughout the entire series had major conflict within himself, between trying to adhere to the responsibilities he had both to himself and other people, that contradict and undermine each other. He tries to take the most righteous path, but his self appointed sense of duty undermines this purpose, because he either ends up betraying the people he has sworn to be dutiful to, or betraying himself all in the name of trying to do what's right. He's attracted to Karin, and that's obvious, but because he has this self appointed duty thing going on, he feels guilty for his attraction because he feels he is betraying Hisana by having feelings for another woman other than her. Despite the fact that he 100% loves Hisana, he's still a human being with feelings, and moreover he's a red blooded male, with carnal urges. I wanted to portray his conflicted thoughts by going into his mind and I hope I did that well enough for you guys

Karin's dream is important, and I had the most fun writing it. It was loosely inspired by a memory I have of my own childhood, and it was fun to retell it with a slight twist. Yutaka is an OC, and to my knowledge, a scene like this never ever occurs in the Manga/Anime. The little blonde girl is Yuzu (did anyone recognize the plushie she had in her hands? ;P). Yuzu isn't speaking because anything she said at that particular moment wouldn't really be relevant.

Did you guys like Masaki's appearance? Let me know in your reviews!

Announcements!

1) I am going to be publishing some other works besides this one! Many of them will be taking place in the same universe as Unconventional unions. There will be a HitsuYuzu (I am definitely going to give this one a try), I would like to try a YoruichixKisuke FF, I am DYING to write anything with Ukitake (Pairing suggestions, anyone?), and I also want to try and do something with Orihime, maybe Renji, and any other characters. I am OPEN to suggestions!

2) I'm also using Adult FF now! I go by the same Pen name (Truthfulpen), and I will be posting my stories up there as well. The reason for this is, that I want to write works with more mature themes, but FFN seems to be against the publication of explicitly themed works on their website, and according to some fellow writers, they have begun a 'purge' of any FFs that breach their policy. IMO I think it's an unwise decision, and it is causing a considerable number of writers to consider migrating to Adult FF, where they are more free to express themselves. IMO FFN should just have an age restriction for an M+ themed portion of the website... And/Or instate a mandatory disclaimer policy. Regardless, we all have to respect their decision, and because I respect (but disagree) with their policy, I have made and Adult FF account. sometime during the week i'll start uploading chapters of this story over there.

**I am so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open, so I'm going straight to bed, I hope you all really enjoy this chapter, even if it is sub-par... *sigh***

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_Viewer Response Time!_

_kureaRinyu37furansu - welcome aboard! I'm glad you liked my story Kurea-chan, I hope this chapter was as interesting as the rest_

_Mysticfolly- thankyou for your review, and it's alright. The experience was good for me... It taught me to be more careful, and it also helped me to reflect on my story. From that I can only improve :)_

_LadyRin98790 - Arigatou Gozaimasu! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.. And yes, I noticed the bold writing =.='. I was really annoyed when I saw the whole thing in bold, but I never got around to fixing the chapter._

_mypendesarapen - Thankyou so much! With every single review, I feel like writing a thousand words! You guys are really wonderful, and you've done nothing but motivate me :)_

_Yuki-chan and Kuro-kun - Arigatou Gozaimasu!_

_Blue Letters - Thankyou so much! You're a pretty amazing author yourself! Honestly, when I read your stories I feel like organizing a legion of FF priests to exorcise the writers block demon that has been plaguing you! I love "It's Not Heaven" and "Fatal Flaws". I think they have a world of potential! You just need a little bit of encouragement, that's all! I'm going to put your stories on my story Alert so I can read them as soon as you update *silent pressure ;P*_

_Every shadow has its twin - Thanks hun!_

_bfat81 - Thanks for reviewing! and haha, I know most people are over the ichiruki pairing. I don't mind them at all, but they aren't my favourite pairing. The two have a minor role overall, and i chose them predominantly because they open a gateway to a plethora of contrasts and comic relief in my FF_

_LanierShazar - Thank you for reviewing! Hope you liked this chapter_

_Mari - Im so happy that i've managed to make you fall in love with these characters. I'm glad that you don't mind HitsuYuzu either. I hope you'll read my HitsuYuzu FF when I finally release it (not sure when yet). I agree with your view on Orihime as well, definitely. Orihime's problem is that she doesn't have a backbone whatsoever. She's overly nice, to the point of allowing people to completely disrespect and harm her (even Ichigo is guilty of being insensitive towards her) and that's what makes people perceive her as weak and (in my case at times) annoying. I feel that Kubo completely ruined her character by turning her into fodder, despite the fact that she __LITERALLY __carries infinite potential. Since she first learned how to use her powers, she hasn't grown at all, not in personality or in terms of her spiritual power. And sure! I'll write a oneshot for Chad and Orihime if you'd like, as soon as I get back into the roll of things i'll cook something up for you ;) About the other pairings, the majority of them will probably not be seen in this story, because it centers around Karin, and Karin has little to no relationship with almost any of those characters. They are interesting suggestions though; maybe in a future oneshot or multi-shot I might write something about one of them._


	8. Chapter 8: Motivation

**Thank you to everyone who DID review the last chapter. While I am a bit disappointed with the reception (thus the long wait between chapters) considering the number of people following this story, I am nonetheless very grateful that you took the time out to review.**

** Like I said before, I won't force anyone to review or hold this FF hostage until a certain number of people review, but I REALLY would like to read what my readers think. ****Reviews literally are my motivation!**

**Also, R.I.P. to Kuchiki Byakuya (I will treat your 'death' like Grimmjow's and pray to Kami that it ain't so!)**

**And If you like ByaKarin, one of my readers, 'Blue Letters' wrote an absolutely hilarious Fic that I think most of you here would love. Make sure that if you do read it, REVIEW (She deserves that much). Honestly I love that someone else also started a Fic with this pairing (so much more fun to read than my own writing). I think we should start a ByaKarin movement on FF ;P!**

**Anyway, without further interruption!, here is Chapter 8.**

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_Important Terms:_

_Minna = Everyone_

_Yare Yare = In this particular context, it is equivalent to saying "geez" or "oh gosh man" in an almost irritated way._

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Feeling rather independent that morning, Karin tried to get herself ready on her own. Tried. After Karin had gotten out of bed, had busied herself with trying to find the baths that she had been escorted to earlier on. Backtracking mentally from the time that Haruka had escorted her from the baths to her bedroom, Karin had managed to find her way to the baths and wasted no time in submersing herself into one of the cooler pools that were in the vast area.

A cool bath was exactly what Karin needed to get the sticky feeling that enveloped her off of her body. When she had awoken, she found herself covered in so much sweat that her clothes were actually somewhat dampened. The cool waters did wonders for her skin, replacing the clammy feeling of cold sweat with the revitalized feel of fully washed skin. After realizing that if she stayed in the water any longer she would begin to wrinkle, Karin stepped out of the pool, and briskly walked over to the other side of the room where she grabbed herself another oversized robe and walked towards the exit of the baths. Karin opened the doors to exist the baths, but was stopped right in her tracks as she took in the presence of Haruka and three servants waiting outside of the room.

"Ohayou Karin-sama" they chimed in unison, bowing before her.

"Ohayou minna. How did you know I was here?" Karin greeted the girls hesitantly, slightly surprised that they knew she would be in the baths, and slightly disappointed that they had discovered her so soon. The novelty of being dressed by someone else had more or less worn off the moment it had first happened.

"It was simply a hunch milady" said Haruka, smiling all but too ingenuously.

Karin nodded, accepting the explanation, and gesturing for some clearance so that she could fully exit the baths and head back to her room. The girls made way for Karin, and followed her as she made her way back to her room.

"Karin-sama, it is unwise to leave your quarters unattended. It is quite easy to lose ones sense of direction in the vast corridors of the mansion" said one of the maids.

"I have to learn my way around the place eventually. Besides, I've had no problems so far" said Karin, shrugging as she walked.

"But, Karin-sama it is most unadvisable to wander so freely. It poses a potential threat to your wellbeing!" Another one of the maids argued.

"Yare yare maid-san… There's hardly any threat in me getting to know the environment better. Hell, the only 'dangerous' thing here is Byakuya's temper, and I doubt walking around is liable to incur it" Karin replied as she waved off the maids hand nonchalantly as she casually sauntered back to her room.

Once Karin was in her room –despite her objection – Haruka and the other maids went about gathering numerous Kimonos for Karin to choose from, as well as addressing the head chef and requesting that he prepare something for Karin to eat. Some 20 minutes of negotiating later, Karin was fully dressed in a dark green Yukata, sitting on her bed waiting for her food to arrive, while Haruka kneeled behind her, brushing her still slightly dampened hair.

"Karin-sama?" said Haruka after a minute of silence, still busying herself with detangling Karin's raven locks.

"Hai, Haruka-san?" replied Karin

"You say that you are not Kuchiki-danna's mistress?"

At that, all the other maids' ears piqued in sudden interest, although they pretended not to have heard what Haruka had said (albeit poorly). Karin clenched her teeth in irritation for a split second, before she composed herself and reigned in her temper, mentally counting to 10 before she replied to Haruka's question.

"No, I am not his mistress, Haruka-san"

"And you have no desires to become his mistress, Karin-sama?" said the young girl as she continued to brush the knots out of Karin's hair.

"Not a drop of desire in all of the heavens" responded the raven haired woman as she tried to keep her irritation undetected.

Why was this becoming a conversation again? Karin thought that her outburst was more than enough to convince the maids that she had no involvement of that nature with the Kuchiki heir. Every last altercation with him had ended up with Karin more than ever wanting to see his pompous royal ass kicked into the next dimension; preferably by her own foot. He was too full of himself honestly! Yes, a month had passed since the first time she had met him and he had (quite unjustifiably) _belittled_ her intelligence and she supposed she should have gotten over it, but she was a Kurosaki god damn it, and a Kurosaki didn't just move on and forget they'd been slighted! She realized her vendetta might be perceived as petty, especially by a man like him, who had probably moved on ages ago, but Karin continued to convince herself that it didn't matter. Although a part of her was somewhat disturbed by the fact that she was unable to get the Kuchiki noble out of her mind, while she knew that he would've completely forgotten about her if not for the Soutaichou's decree.

A long moment of pause ensued as Haruka contemplated her next words before she continued.

"And Kuchiki-danna has never taken any actions that would imply that he would desire you to take on such a roll in his court?" replied the younger girl.

"Shouldn't you be asking Byakuya a question like that?" Karin almost snapped.

"I am afraid Kuchiki-danna is not quite as… approachable, as you are" the girl admitted.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing anymore" Karin murmured darkly, more to herself than to Haruka (and the conspicuously eavesdropping maids).

"So, Karin-sama if you are comfortable with answering my question… has he?"

"Hmm, what? No. Byakuya and I don't even speak really. And I doubt he'd go for someone like me anyway, we're total opposites. No offense to you Haruka-san, but I really don't feel like talking about Byakuya right now… or any time at all to be quite frank" Karin answered honestly, almost whispering the last bit.

The more she thought about the subject, the more it started to irritate and depress her. Last night was when she realized that she had somehow started to develop it… this, this _slight_ crush on Byakuya that was really based on one isolated meeting that happened just about a month ago. When she bade him goodnight, she took a moment to look into his eyes sincerely, and in retrospect she regretted it wholly. By gazing into his pained yet reclusive eyes, Karin unwittingly forced herself to acknowledge the feelings that he had developed for the Kuchiki prince. How shallow was she, to form and harbor such a strong feeling that was really and truly based off of one isolated incident, which really wasn't all that pleasant to begin with. Karin had never been the type to fall for the typical bad-boy type who acted aloof, or quite frankly didn't give a fuck about the swooning females that tended to flock them, so she didn't understand why she was so sickeningly drawn to Byakuya. Perhaps it was the assertiveness that the noble had, the commanding aura, and the way he wasn't afraid to go through with a threat or a promise. Few men have ever had the courage, the balls, or the raw level of idiocy required to stand up to Karin fiercely enough to force her to stand down. Karin was a woman with a naturally strong personality, and she easily overpowered most men with her presence alone, so it was refreshingly _alluring_ when a man was able to stand up to her and challenge her authority. Yes, that was probably it… the refreshing, albeit rude way that he had approached and handled her was probably what had spurred her silly crush, Karin reasoned. It was temporary, she knew it… It would fade with time, and if time didn't heal this particularly troubling wound, she would force herself to get over it, she had to. Karin couldn't afford to allow herself to fall deeper into a one-sided infatuation that would only lead to her detriment. Besides, the relationship between them was already expected to become a sensei and student one. Karin would rather die than become one of those girls who were too busy crushing over their instructors to actually absorb any of the principals that their instructors tried to instill in them. She had always rolled her eyes at the girls in her high school that used to swoon over their foreign Spanish teacher from Colombia, like hell she'd end up doing anything remotely close to that. Besides, she was determined to prove to everyone that she was a capable Shinigami; she couldn't afford to distract herself with flighty feelings that weren't based on anything of substance. All she needed to do was bide her time with Byakuya until she could convince the Soutaichou to give her a new instructor, and then she'd finally be free. It would be for the best really… they didn't get along, and it was just painfully confusing to hate a man you were slightly attracted to, all while attempting to improve your skills as a Shinigami.

Karin was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost never heard the knock on the door. Haruka had to nudge her three times before she shook her head, snapping herself out of her reverie, and looking intently at the girl to find out what it was that she wanted.

"hmm?" Karin said, looking up expectantly at the girl.

"Someone is at the door Karin-san"

"Oh, the door? Let them in. COME IN!" Karin yelled the last part rather crudely, causing Haruka and the other maids to wince at her shocking lack of politeness that they had long grown accustomed to hearing from the nobles of the Kuchiki family.

At Karin's beck, the door was opened, and Nobuo-kamijouchuu, carrying a tray that appeared to be well packed with food.

Nobuo made a face that Karin could only be described as reproving and slightly condescending before he spoke. "Such drastic, crude increases in your phonic decibel range is rather unbecoming of a woman of your presumptive stature Karin-sama"

"Ohayou to you to Nobuo-san. You can rest my tray in front of me here" she said to the older man, rolling her eyes at his antics.

The older man did as he was instructed and laid the tray in front of Karin on the bed. Karin murmured thanks to the older man, and waited for him to leave. When he didn't move Karin looked up into his eyes expectantly, waiting to hear what it was he had to say to her.

"yes?" she said after a moment

"Karin-sama, I regret to inform you that it is currently not feasible for me to ensure that your fast breaking is a leisurely one. Kuchiki-danna has explicitly requested your presence for training, as soon as you have finished breaking your fast" Nobuo replied to the young woman's question.

"Explicitly requested?"

"I do believe that no is not an answer you are at liberty to reply with milady. I believe that his request is directly correlated with training exercises, which I presume are the reason for your presence here at the moment" said Nobuo

Karin simply nodded and promised Nobuo that she would not keep 'Kuchiki-danna' waiting, as she finally began to dig into her meal.

Byakuya was pacing the compound grounds casually feigning indifference at the fact that Karin still hadn't arrived yet. While he did not take kind to being forced into a position of having to wait on someone, Byakuya took the temporary solitude he was in as a blessing. He had simply told Nobuo to request Karin's immediate presence without really thinking about what he should have had planned for the girl to do as a training exercises. In hindsight he regretted that decision terribly, because now he found himself in a position where he yet again risked compromising his reputation all because of the same woman who had managed to put him in the same position the first time. Despite being a reservoir of vast knowledge and strategy conjuring prowess, no matter how many times Byakuya raked his brain, he was unable to think of a suitable training method as an introduction. Byakuya had no doubt that numerous strategic variations existed in his mind, but for some inexplicable reason he was unable to access any of his useful memories.

All he needed was for her to take him seriously. As ridiculous as not taking the Kuchiki noble seriously may have sounded to the average person, with Karin it was a far different story. Much like her brother Karin did not care much for authority, and an individual –regardless of class or social standing- was hard-pressed to earn even an inkling of genuine respect from them, especially her he believed. A good fight and a politically correct speech about friendship and sunshine was usually enough to establish some form of mutual understanding with Ichigo that would blossom into respect. However, with Karin it would take a bold move, a move that would challenge her own natural authority for her to take notice of anyone who wanted her genuine respect. If Byakuya had any hope of successfully training Karin to be a competent Shinigami he would have to make sure that some sort of respect was established where she was concerned, or else she would disregard every last bit of his instruction. It hit him at the last second, as he suddenly realized how he would prove to her that she needed him (all the while mentally assuring himself that he had no ulterior motives in mind). It would be harsh, and even arguably cruel, but it was the only way for them to establish some form of relationship that would be conducive to their assignment.

After coming to a conclusion at the last fateful second of brainstorming Byakuya felt Karin's reiatsu approaching the compound grounds. Byakuya stood straight and put on his most stoic façade, diligently awaiting his new protégé like any Kuchiki would. When Karin arrived in the courtyard, she landed out of shunpo just about a good six feet of Byakuya, making eye contact long enough to give him a surprisingly polite 'Ohayou', before quickly diverting her eyes and busying herself with trying to find something in the area to stare at that wasn't Byakuya. A brief wave of panic swept over Byakuya as he wondered if she had discovered that it was him who had visited her room while she had been sleeping. Were his moves so slow, so obvious? Byakuya inwardly reprimanded himself with some non-too-kind words, as he desperately sought out a way of gauging whether or not she knew about what he had done without divulging any information himself. As he appraised her form suddenly a light bulb went off in the Kuchiki Prince's mind. A slight smirk caressed his sharp features triumphantly.

Was she really that transparent! Karin could swear that he was smirking at her! Karin had been told by Rukia numerous times about her brothers allegedly 'kami-like' critical analysis skills. But hell, she didn't think he'd realize that she was attracted (all though she convinced herself that the attraction was quickly diminishing) to him that quickly! Karin's self-preservation instinct kicked in. She would not allow herself to be humiliated by her (current) arch nemesis, just because of an insignificant, fleeting infatuation. Getting a hold over herself, Karin steeled her will and decided to do the best think she could think of doing in response to anything he may have said to her; use cold abrasiveness.

"You are late, Kurosaki Karin. I trust you slept well then?" Byakuya said, condescending reproach oozing from his voice.

'_Condescending bastard! He's mocking me! Does he think I was dreaming about him or something?' _thought Karin angrily.

"Reasonably enough, no thanks to you however" she responded almost irritated.

'… _She knows'_ Byakuya thought alarmed, doing everything in his will power not to falter as she stared him down with an overconfident glower severe enough to match his own. In the back of his mind he could hear Senbonzakura mocking him, in ways that only Senbonzakura could.

"And how I wonder, might I have been obstructive to your peaceful slumber?" Byakuya shot back in an even, almost cocky tone, completely the opposite of what he was feeling internally.

"You should know, Byakuya. It's pretty obvious" she replied, raising her eyebrow.

His expression was totally blank.

'_Fuck, fuck, fuck. I can't win with this guy!' _Karin screamed in her head. Not being trained in the art of stoicism, Karin's irritation was much more present in her features, much to her chagrin.

'_Shouting obscenities isn't going to make your predicament any better Karin-sama' _said Kiyogetsu, chuckling.

'_Help me, or be quiet' _Karin snapped, her face crinkling considerably as she reacted angrily to her zanpakutou spirits' incessant teasing.

Byakuya was near certain that she knew he had been in her quarters; he was mortified. He almost wanted to ask for forgiveness, but the arrogant prideful side of him took over, firmly slapping him upside the head for faltering, and Byakuya proceeded to rattle off a string of words, in a way only a Kuchiki could.

"Regardless of how you may or may not feel, this entire expanse is my birthright and I reserve the right to be present in any and all forms within this domain. However you feel about that is irrelevant, I will do as I please with this house, and those that reside in it" he said in finality, earning a confused expression from Karin.

Byakuya didn't have time to waste anymore; his chances of earning some sort of respect from her were dwindling, judging by the lack of analytical sharpness that he had been suffering from lately, if their discussion should continue he was liable to disclose information that would be detrimental to the image that she had already kept of him.

Karin was about to retort when suddenly Byakuya appeared right in front of her, grabbed her by the wrist, and the two disappeared as Byakuya launched into shunpo.

In a tree just about 50 yards away, a violet haired woman and her platinum blonde companion sat watching the altercation.

"Ne Kisuke-chan, what do you think of this then?"

Kisuke stroked Yoruichi's hair playfully as he spoke, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think they'd fucked already Yo-chan"

At that Yoruichi chuckled heartily, "You think we should follow them?" she asked him.

"You'd take me with you even if I said no" he replied

"Kisuke-chan, you know me so well" she said before the two of them flash stepped into nothingness.

Byakuya landed in a vast open flat ground which was surrounded by several large trees. As he landed he immediately loosed his grasp of Karin's wrist and proceeded to walk away from the fuming girl.

"Where the hell did you take me!" Karin shouted at the man

"Surely you are more intelligent than your brother Kurosaki Karin; what pray tell do you suppose the purpose of me bringing you to a training ground could possibly be?"

Karin stared at Byakuya, outraged. "Well good sir, the options tend to vary when the psycho you've been arguing with suddenly grabs you by the hand and drags you to a secluded area"

Yes, she knew she could have phrased that better, but she didn't really care. Karin wanted to convey a point, and convey it she did. Byakuya's facial expression didn't change, but the extra second he took to respond was confirmation that she had at least hit a nerve.

Normally, Byakuya would have made a chillingly cold rebuttal that would have left anyone in a silenced stupor. But rubbing his temples in irritation, Byakuya realized that doing so would only reignite the vicious flame that was Karin's argumentative streak. Resisting the urge to sigh in resignation, Byakuya appraised Karin, before arching his eyebrow in noticeable dissatisfaction.

"Were you not told that you would be taking part in a training exercise? Your attire is ill-suited for the exercises you will be expected to complete" he said sourly, as he took note of Karin's choice of dress. Karin wore a dark forest green Yukata that barely covered her knees, and her sheathed zanpakutou resting on her hip. The entire outfit was obviously meant for lounging, and was hardly supportive.

"What's wrong with what I have on?" Karin challenged him, putting her hand on her hips.

"If you cannot see what is wrong with your attire, then I refuse to explain it to you" he said before he continued, "At what level are your skills?" he ordered, more than asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Karin responded to the man confusedly.

Byakuya rubbed his temples irritatedly before he spoke again. "I need to gauge your skills so I can instruct you at a level which is most conducive to the task at hand, and ensure that you hone and master your skills as a shinigami."

Karin nodded as clarity hit her, steeling her facial expression on the outside as she internally berated herself for looking like a fool in front of Byakuya.

"It is paramount that I remain informed on how proficient you are in Shunpo, Kenjutsu, Kidou, as well as gauge your physical fitness."

"Paramount my foot; you don't need to know anything. I was training just fine without your help" she shot back.

"It appears as though you are either suffering from a clinical form of cognitive impairment, or you are purposefully choosing to present yourself in such a manner" said Byakuya, glaring at Karin.

"I have no such existing condition; I just frankly can't be bothered to give two fair fucks about this training thing as long as it's with you. I mean let's be real for a second; what are you, a rich pretty-boy supposed to teach me? How to manage my inheritance whilst straightening my hair? I don't know why your Soutaichou couldn't have just paired me up with Toshiro-kun… At least we actually like one another" she said, the annoyance and dissatisfaction palpable in her voice.

Byakuya wasn't sure if he should be insulted or complimented. On the plus side she did refer to him with a term generally applied to physically attractive males, but on the down side, she used that term with a negative connotation to describe him as being useless and unfit for his position. And on top all of that off, she outwardly admitted that she would rather be with her… Whatever-It-Is-Hitsugaya-Is To-Her than with him at that moment. Yes, Byakuya decided that he should be quite offended, and a witty comeback was more than perfectly and appropriately merited for the situation.

"You behave as though anyone would intentionally desire you as a protégé, or as general company for that matter. Regardless, you are my ward, and as such I am responsible for being made aware of your progress throughout the time that you are under my tutelage. Hence my insistence in evaluating your skill level" Byakuya said matter-of-factly, sending Karin a look that clearly stated that he meant business.

Karin rolled her eyes at Byakuya and put a hand on her forehead as she looked up as if asking for some form of divine intervention.

"You know what, whatever. I'm alright with kenjutsu, I can use shunpo, never used Kidou, and as I'm sure you can obviously tell, I'm pretty fucking fit. I mean, do I look out of shape to you?" She said waving one of her hands up and down her body.

"Certain inquiries are best left unanswered Kurosaki-san"

Karin gawked at the raven haired man, insulted by Byakuya's insinuation. He was so impossible! Forget forcing herself to stop crushing on him, he was doing a fine job of turning her off all on his own!

"A-are you saying I'm fat!"

"Hn"

"You bastard!"

"Hn." Byakuya said as he drew senbonzakura. Suddenly he disappeared in a flash and before Karin could finish blinking, she found herself pressed right against a tall figure from behind with a blade just millimetres away from her throat. Karin resisted the urge to swallow lest the blade pierce her skin, and stood rigidly still, as she waited for Byakuya to make his next move. Suddenly Karin was thrust to the ground, and landed sprawling rather ungracefully.

Karin glared up at Byakuya angrily, a 'what-the-actual-fuck' expression written on her face.

"What the hell Byakuya! Why would you do something like that"

"Your reflexes leave much to be desired" he replied to her.

"You didn't even say that we were starting yet!"

"When I told you that I intended to gauge your skill level, I never implied that I wanted a verbal estimation."

"Well you should have at least let me know that you were going to start attacking me!" she yelled back at him angrily

"A shinigami must always be on the lookout for unsuspected assaults to their person. In the battlefield, a Hollow will never formally alert you of its presence, nor of its killing intent." Byakuya responded simply

"I'll show you a shinigami on the lookout" she said getting to her feet and unsheathing Kiyogetsu. Karin leapt after Byakuya and launched into a shunpo, only to have Byakuya disappear before she could even finished accelerating. Byakuya appeared behind Karin, hitting her in the back with the hilt of senbonzakura. Before Karin could even finish turning around Byakuya had distanced himself a good 50 meters away from Karin.

"Far too slow" Byakuya said condescendingly, his expression was one of sheer disinterest as he watched Karin quake with rage.

Karin launched after Byakuya again intent on trying to strike a hit, yet again he disappeared from vision. Karin turned to her left to see him looking at her with that same almost mocking expression and launched off into her fastest Shunpo to try and match Byakuya's speed. However, to Karin's dismay, the Kuchiki Noble was eons ahead of her in speed, and quite frankly felt like a punk, when she had to go on what was essentially a wild goose chase, that would end in fruitlessness. Even at her top speed Karin could barely keep up with Byakuya. Karin began to rely on her reiatsu sensing to guess the direction that Byakuya was in, and for once in her life Karin was glad that she hadn't grown like Ichigo, poor reiatsu sensory skills and all. Using his reiatsu to trace him made the ordeal slightly less taxing, but alas, after a few pointless minutes of chasing him, Karin felt herself begin to get a little winded.

Byakuya had noticed that Karin's speed had decreased and decided that he had had enough of the little game he was playing, albeit reluctantly however. Byakuya would never admit it, but he was beginning to see why Yoruichi had enjoyed seeing him chase after her for his personal belongings. It was quite the source of entertainment to watch Karin get flustered with her inability to keep up with him. She was actually kind of cute when she was annoyed. _'cute'?_ Mentally expelling his peculiar choice of words from his mind, Byakuya shunpoed right in front of Karin, his blade raised. Byakuya purposefully shunpoed significantly slower, so that Karin would have a chance to see him coming before he hit. Just as Byakuya presumed, Karin raised her blade to block his, and from there the two leapt into a rather heated sparring match, with Karin putting far more effort into it than Byakuya who was more or less half-heartedly parrying Karin's barrage of attacks. In all honesty, Byakuya was so disinterested in Karin's cliché striking patterns that he could have fallen asleep right then and there. Bless Rukia's heart for trying, but instructing Karin in the ways of the Shinigami Academy was one of the worst things she could have done for the girl.

Generic fighting maneuvers such as those were rarely practical in battle. Sure, it worked wonderfully on low level hollows who were to daft to engage in any real, strategic form of combat, but such teaching was rarely practical especially if one contrasted them to the recent events in soul society's history. God forbid another Aizen arise in the soul society, the people who had never progressed from Academy grade kenjutsu would be the first to go, due to their former comrades who also learned those same techniques, predicting their every move.

The only distracting aspect of the entire fight was the way that Karin's Yukata struggled to keep her bosom and shapely legs covered every time she hacked and cleaved at him. It was a tempting distraction that Karin seemed to be oblivious to as she continued to attack Byakuya with a blood lusty determination that would make Kenpachi proud. It would start with the surge of reiatsu that radiated around causing the bottom of her Yukata to flare upward and expose toned legs, and was followed by a cleave that created a mild wind that blew the top portion of her Yukata to the side, only to reveal ever so slightly a lacy black material (eerily similar to the ones he had seen her in, in his dreams) and then another surge of reiatsu would be released, rearranging the position of the Yukata all over again. Despite being around women like Matsumoto on a regular basis without feeling adversely affected, there was just something about the way Karin's Yukata shifted on her body as she fought that was strangely enticing. Byakuya was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't even notice when Karin's pattern changed, and she managed to get two good strikes in on his person, and then she suddenly broke away from him, intent on trying to summon her Shikai.

"Hikaru to Oreru, Kiyogetsu!" Karin yelled, her blade bursting into burning white moonflower petals. With her hilt, Karin directed her white flamed blades at Byakuya desperate to keep space between them. Byakuya could feel the scorching heat from Kiyogetsu, but Byakuya refused to release his own Shikai when at Karin`s current level he could easily handle the situation with his Senbonzakura in its sealed state. Despite the threat potential that Karin held with Kiyogetsu released, her lack of experience with the blade made it difficult for her to control and utilize the flaming petals to their full potential. Byakuya decided that he had had enough of swatting away the endless swarm of dangerously hot, but poorly controlled petals, and wasted no time in shooting out a Low level Hado spell.

"Hado No.4, Byakurai"

The bolt of pale blue lightning hit Karin directly in her shoulder, causing rippling waves of electricity to shock her all over her body. The shock caused Karin to drop her hilt to the floor that was more than a few feet below them as they fought in the air. Due to Karin's lack of control over the flames, the moment the hilt touched the floor, Kiyogetsu immediately went back into its sealed state. By the time the effects of Byakuya's Byakurai wore off, Karin was attacked by bright yellow rope-like energy that dragged her down to ground level, and confined to a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Byakuya appeared in front of Karin, grabbing her by the neck, with senbonzakura raised right above her. Byakuya leaned in closely to Karin, his breath cooling the beads of sweat that had formed on her face, and spoke with a cool and even tone.

"Your performance leaves much to be desired; your shunpo is barely that of a seated officer, your kenjutsu is rehearsed and predictable, your lack of knowledge in the art of Kido will most definitely lead to your detriment, and at the risk of sounding rather conspicuous, it is clear that your physical fitness is pitifully lacking. Perhaps Yamamoto-Soutaichou was misguided in putting faith in your potential"

With a snap of his fingers Byakuya the yellow binds that held Karin to the tree disintegrated into reishi particles that floated out into the atmosphere, and stepped away from Karin, who stumbled to her knees, gasping for breath.

"I believe it is fair to argue that the expectations that you set for yourself are much too high. Realistically, do you honestly believe the level of skill that you possess is enough to make you a recognized Shinigami? What you have shown me here is that you do not have what it takes to be anything more than ordinary, one of the unremarkable individuals who trail in Kurosaki Ichigo's shadow" Byakuya said icily, his back turned to Karin as he stared off into the distance with mild indifference.

Even with his back turned to Karin he could feel her confidence crack as he mentioned Ichigo's prowess, which was obviously a very sore spot for her. But she needed to hear it, what everyone else would ultimately think of her if she didn't take things seriously. Saying that you have a dream, and taking all the actions necessary to achieve it were two separate things. Byakuya couldn't explain why he felt so passionately about it, but that first day that he had seen her, that determined fire in her eyes had spoken to him personally in a way he had never been spoken to in a long time. Karin had so much to offer, but no one who could push her in the way that she needed to be. He had been completely opposed to teaching her at first, but revelation hit him later on, and he realized that only he was capable of bringing out the _shinigami_ as opposed to the_ fighter_ in Karin. It was a duty he told himself, as a Taichou and as great noble to ensure that Soul Society remained secure at all times. Someone with a unique lineage and astronomical potential like Karin was vital to ensuring that security. He would not fall short of his duty, because of his own displeasure. At least that was what Byakuya told himself was the reasoning behind his actions at the moment. He was _'positive'_ that it had nothing to do with the fact that he admired her guile, or her beauty, or her defiant logic. Nothing to do with the fact that he wanted her to be nearer to him. This exercise of respect was selfless he told himself, so that she would respect him as a superior capable of teaching him, it had '_nothing'_ with him wanting her to view him as someone worthy of admiring.

"Do. Not. Fucking. Go. There. Byakuya" Karin spat, trying to control the rage.

"And why not, do you fear that the trees will also learn of your incompetence?" Byakuya shot back, almost mockingly.

"You don't know me! You don't know what I'm capable of because your head is to far up your ass for you to see the power that I have inside of me! Until you've walked a day in my shoes and seen the struggles that I have had to overcome you do not reserve the right to look down on me and sanction me as unworthy! I am capable! I am powerful, and nothing any fucking body wants to say is going to stop me I'm serious!" She yelled grabbing the grass beneath her as tightly as her hands would manage, the hurt in her voice was palpable, but she didn't sound as though she was on the verge of tears.

Karin was convinced that she had become one of those social sadists that she would always hear about on those documentaries on paraphilia that always came on freakishly late at night. Why did she like this guy again? He had done nothing but aggravate and offend her since they met, and yet over the month since she had last seen him she had managed to develop something akin to a crush on that Kuchiki Byakuya. But after hearing him down talk her the way he was now, she knew that the only thing she could feel for that self-righteous bastard was disgust, and then with a few magic words, that disgust all but totally dissipated.

"Then show me how serious are"

When Byakuya finished speaking it took Karin a minute to realize what he had said. While the spitfire inside of her wanted to argue with him even more, the logical side of her brain had kicked in, and she realized that she really did need help. Yes, she was making progress with her training in Urahara-san's basement, but she still wasn't getting the push that she needed. Rukia was too easy on her, and lately Yoruichi-san barely had the time to train her with shunpo. She needed this; someone she couldn't stand to act as a source of motivation. The way he easily immobilized her pissed her off to no end, and fighting with him really made her realize how much she needed to grow. This was the strength of a Taicho, who wasn't even taking her seriously. If she had any hope of surpassing Ichigo and making a name for herself, she would have to start taking her training far more seriously than she previously had. Karin looked up from the ground to see Byakuya in front of her with his hand outstretched. To say that she was shocked would be the understatement of the year. She couldn't read anything from his expression but the way he almost knelt in front of her, offering her his gloved hand was more than enough indication that he had at least some degree of faith in her ability. Karin put her hand in Byakuya's, and allowed him to pull her up from the floor. Their hands stayed together for just a moment a second too long before they separate, both feeling the buzz-like effect of their momentary touch, but neither of them making the other aware that they felt it.

* * *

**A/N: That's it for now. Busy, Busy, Busy. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you guys next update!**


	9. Chapter 9: A Nostalgic Reality

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers!**

**I have got to stop updating every 3 weeks, but for some reason it seems to have become some sort of pattern for me. This chapter is fairly long, (it was originally something like 12k words, but i cut in by almost half, because it was too overwhelming). Not too much direct ByaKarin interaction, but there definitely will be in the next chapter. Anyway, let me not write a paragraph that you won't be interested in reading. Thanks again to all my reviewers from last chapter, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.**

**I Do Not Own Bleach.**

* * *

_Important terms:_

_Hanami = Sakura viewing (watching cherry blossoms fall during the spring)_

_Kan = Currency of Soul Society_

_Kiiroizakura = A village outside of the Rukongai city that is entirely fanon (I made it up). The name has a literal translation of "Yellow cherryblossoms"_

* * *

*OoO*OoO*

A little over a month had passed since that day in the field, and the effects of what had transpired there had continue to ripple over the relationship dynamic that Byakuya and Karin had. While they still argued with each other often, sometimes even explosively, it was quite evident that a bond had begun to grow and strengthen between them. Karin was far less abrasive towards Byakuya, and Byakuya had warmed up to Karin a great deal. Neither openly acknowledged what they had formed, but it was easy for the people around them to see that they had established some form of friendship.

Karin would spend her weekends at the Kuchiki manor training, and whenever he wasn't busy Byakuya would make it to the human world to train with Karin during the times when her classes and her soccer commitments kept her from leaving the world of the living. Byakuya would rather die than admit it to anyone, but he was genuinely beginning to enjoy Karin's company, and it was becoming more and more difficult to find reasons for him not to like her. Both Karin and Byakuya had turned out to have a great deal of things in common, and Byakuya had discovered that unlike her brother who was brutish inside and out, Karin was actually an extremely intelligent woman, beyond her blasé façade. They both loved strategic games like 'Go', and were both quite fond of literature.

Byakuya found that she too, had a tendency to critically analyze the material she read, and the two of them often spent their evenings after training discussing their discontentment or fascination with the works of various authors in extreme detail up until the late hours of the night. Karin had even been the one to introduce Byakuya to a particular genre of literature which she referred to as 'Science Fiction' from the real world, a genre which he quickly grew to favour. The genre was a refreshing change from the type of literature he was accustomed to reading, and since he had voiced is partiality to the genre, Karin had begun bringing Byakuya books from her collection each time she visited him, in exchange for works from his collection. While he had been apprehensive at first to lend the woman his rather expensive scrolls on Seireitei history, after seeing the surprisingly pristine condition of Karin's own books, he relented and allowed her to borrow from his collection.

Today was one of the days when Byakuya was expected to visit Karin in the human world for training, and he was actually looking forward to it. Byakuya had arrived at the 6th division barracks an hour earlier than usual to get a head start on his paperwork so he could leave for the human world before noon. He had only recently acknowledged that he indeed had some attraction towards Karin, beyond the physical level, and after failing miserably at trying to deny it to himself, Byakuya was beginning to come to grips with the fact that he had inadvertently developed a slight form of infatuation towards the raven haired woman. Although, he assured himself it was a harmless infatuation that could not progress into to anything more. It was only natural he reasoned, for any normally functioning sentient being to feel attracted to someone who was physically attractive and also shared the interests that they had. It by no means meant that he was betray his undying loyalty to Hisana, and it also didn't mean that he would have to deny himself the first sense of real happiness that he hadn't felt in a long time. As long as he didn't let those feelings progress beyond the point at which they had developed to, he could live with himself for indulging in the only happiness he had felt in well over 50 years. It had been so long since he had had something or someone akin to a friend, or even someone that he had admired. While he had tried to fight it, the inexplicable invitingness of Karin's personality, brashness and all, had reeled him in, and practically begged him to be part of her life. He was too proud to tell her how much she had affected him but he was beginning to find the idea of her not being a part of his life (as an acquaintance and protégé of course, he assured himself) rather strange and uncomfortable. Byakuya couldn't even remember what he used to do with his spare time on weekends, or on the weekdays he now spent in the Human world training with her. Karin had become a very large part of his routine, and was with or around Byakuya nearly every moment that he wasn't working, and according to the Soutaichou at the last Taichou meeting, Yamamoto had decreed that he also wanted Karin (and Yuzu once she was properly evaluated) to be well acquainted with the non-adversarial commitments that Shinigami had, such as filing and completing paperwork, as well as participating in Shinigami subsidiary activities such as the Flower Arranging Club, and Calligraphy Club. As Byakuya idly looked over a file containing information on upgrades on all the Divisions' framework by the 12th Division, his mind drifted back to the Taichou meeting a few days earlier.

*OoO*OoO*

_The Captains meeting was due to start in 10 minutes, and despite the fact that Yamamoto was almost always late for the meetings (he was apparently oblivious to his tardiness, and not so much the tardiness of others) Byakuya arrived early, taking his spot in the meeting hall as he waited for the others to gather. One by one the other Taichou's slowly arrived, nodding in acknowledgement of the Kuchiki's presence, or occasionally making small talk to pass the time._

"… _And how is your protégé faring Kuchiki-Taichou? I have no doubt that under your training she must be progressing well" said Unohana, smiling gently._

"_She fares well Unohana-Taichou. Later in the meeting when I deliver my report, her progress will be discussed in detail"_

_The deceptively gentle looking woman smiled and nodded in understanding, before continuing her discussion with Komamura-Taichou._

_Byakuya attempted to resume his peaceful existence as he waited for the Soutaichou's arrival, but was rudely interrupted by none other than the brutish captain of the 11__th__._

"_Che, don't see how she'd be any good with a sword if yer learnin' her" Kenpachi said brashly. The man just knew how to get on Byakuya's nerves._

"_A brute such as yourself would be unable to comprehend the intricacies of training to master ones zanpakutou" Byakuya responded icily_

"_Quit yer bullshittin'. Ain't nothing intricate 'bout learnin' ta slash hollows!" Kenpachi countered boisterously._

"_Now, now, Kenpachi-san, Kuchiki-san has a point. Learning to control ones zanpakutou is a very intimate process" said Shunsui, raising his sakkat to make eye contact to the violent Captain._

"_Hn." Byakuya said nodding in approval. For once, Shunsui rather than Ukitake (as it usually was the latter of the pair) was the voice of reason to prove Byakuya's statement true._

"_Intimate? Methinks the sissy prince's got tha wrong idea. The old man wanted ya' ta teach the bitch ta use this sword, not __that__ one" Kenpachi jeered him, pointing at his zanpakutou, and then pointing his hand at his nether regions suggestively._

_Byakuya could hear Shunsui, Shinji, and even Ukitake trying to stifle their poorly constrained laughter, and his eyes slit dangerously as he glared at Kenpachi with disdain._

"_Kenpachi-Taichou, it would be in your best interests to refrain from demonizing the professional relationship which I maintain with my protégé." _

"_Don't get yer panties in a knot lover boy; I'm jest pullin' yer leg" Kenpachi spat._

_It took an incredible amount of will, and a mental countdown from 20 for Byakuya to keep himself from responding the brutish man. A moment of relative silence ensued before Shunsui decided to speak once again. Unfortunately, this time his words of 'wisdom' were completely unappreciated._

"_Now, I know you're not the type Kuchiki-san but I wouldn't blame you if you were even the slightest bit tempted by Karin-chan" he started, a lecherous twinkle in his eye as he continued, " I mean she's got one hell of a tight toned body, curvy too. Why, could you imagine what one of her kegels could do to –"_

"_**Ahem**__" Boomed an all too familiar voice, effectively ending Shunsui's soliloquy on Karin's sex appeal before it progressed any further._

"_**I Am Quite Sure That Is Enough Kyoraku-san. It Is Quite Obvious That Neither Kuchiki-Taichou Nor The Rest Of The Occupants Of This Room Wish To Hear Kurosaki-san Spoken Of In Such A Manner**__" said Unohana, her voice eerily calm, but the deadly intent more than evident within._

"_Gomennasai, Senpai" Shunsui replied meekly, sweat-dropping. Byakuya nodded to Unohana in acknowledged thanks, and proceeded to tune out the other conversations that happened around him as they waited for the Soutaichou to arrive. He was eternally grateful that Unohana had shut Shunsui up when he did, because he wasn't sure how long he could supress the blazing hot blush that threatened to appear on his cheeks, as Shunsui had continued to discuss things that he himself had thought about on more than one embarrassing occasion. _

_It was another 10 minutes or so before the Soutaichou finally arrived in the hall, and the meeting officially commenced. The meeting went from Ukitake-Taichou briefly discussing the progress his lieutenant had made being an active lieutenant (duties and all) while also chaperoning the Ichigo and his Human troupe of hollow slayers, whilst they went about keeping Karakura Town safe, and continued down the ranks in numerical order. A good chunk of the meeting was spent explaining to Kurotsuchi-Taichou why it was considered unethical to interweave neural sensory equipment that would deliver thought-process information to the 12__th__, into the Shinigami uniforms. Another chunk was spent explaining to him why he was not permitted to experiment with the DNA of unwilling donors. When it finally came down to Byakuya's turn to report, Byakuya found himself answering questions rather than delivering a simple report._

"_Has she begun comprehensive Kido training?" Yamamoto questioned him_

"_Yes, Soutaichou-sama. I have been Karin-san instructing in the art of Kido since our very first training session"_

"_And what of her progress in that field?"_

"_Karin has proven to have an affinity for defensive Kido. Her Bakudo spells are much more refined than her offensive Hado spells. However, she is able to use considerably leveled Kido spells, with great prowess" Byakuya responded._

"_As expected of your student. It may be a good thing that her affinity lies in Bakudo, seeing as her Zanpakuto seems to be a more destructive force than a defensive one. It will do her well to balance both forms. And what of her kenjutsu, and Shunpo? How does she fare?"_

"_Karin-san excels in both, with her Shunpo progress being considerably faster than her Zanpakutou mastery, which is to be expected. During training, I ensure that emphasis is heavily placed upon synergy of the two forms, in order to produce optimal results"_

"_Wonderful. And of her prowess in the martial arts?"_

"_Karin-san is an advanced martial artist; it has been brought to my attention that each of the Kurosaki siblings are trained to an at least 3__rd__ degree black belt equivalent in two or more styles. Indeed her skills are enough for her to have easily transcended into the intermediate-higher tiered ranks of the Omnitsukido. As a result of this previous training, Hakuda training has continued relatively unhindered by inexperience" Byakuya replied evenly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see SoiFon's interest pique at the mention of Karin's martial skill level._

"_Excellent, Kuchiki-Taichou" the Soutaichou said, making as if to move on to the 5__th__ Division, however Unohana interjected._

"_If I may ask Kuchiki-Taichou, do you and Karin-san participate in any leisurely activities, outside of training?"_

_Remembering the conversation that had gone on before the meeting, a few of the captains began to chuckle, with Kenpachi being less than modest with his cackle. Pretending that he did not hear any of it, Byakuya asked the Captain of the 4__th__ to clarify what she meant._

"_I beg your pardon, Unohana-Taichou?"_

"_What I mean to say Kuchiki-taichou, is have you attempted to establish a form of companionship outside of training? It is important for a protégé and instructor to form a friendship of some sort outside of their working ritual. By doing that, they are able to work together more efficiently"_

_Feeling slightly more comfortable with Unohana's question, Byakuya prepared his answer. Being an extremely personal man, Byakuya decided that he would only divulge information that would not jeopardize his reputation in any way. He didn't want anyone in the room to know just how much time he spent with Karin, and so he opted for… indirectly avoiding to the truth._

"_The only non-training related activity that I can recall Karin-san and myself actively participating in, is partaking in evening meals at the manor during her weekend long training sabbaticals in my estate" he lied smoothly._

_Unohana did not seem very pleased with his answer, but her ghastly aura didn't become apparent/threaten to consume the room. After a second of silence Unohana turned towards Yamamoto, and began to speak._

"_Soutaichou-sama, do you think perhaps it would be wise to have Karin-san and perhaps Yuzu-san as well partake in Shinigami activities, after their relocation in a month or so time? Perhaps if Karin-san were to join the calligraphy club, or be part of any other Clubs and organizations in the Seireitei, it would help with her assimilation into Soul Society. It is only reasonable that if we wish for Karin-san and her sister to crusade for the Soul Society's cause that they are made to feel a part of, and made to experience all aspects of Shinigami life"_

_After digesting Unohana's words, Yamamoto made a low grunt of approval before he spoke._

"_Unohana-Taichou makes a rather valid point. With that being said I believe it is only reasonable that Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu should have their training encompass all aspects of Shinigami life, immediately upon their permanent relocation. Wouldn't you agree Kuchiki-Taichou?"_

_Two months ago, Byakuya would've cursed the skies for allowing his unending affliction to worsen, with Karin being recommended to be a part of the clubs which he participated in. Hell, even two weeks ago the idea would've been met with some mild discomfort, but surprisingly Byakuya was perfectly content with Karin making her presence known in another aspect of his life. With her considerable knowledge in Japanese history and the arts, it would certainly be interesting to see how she fared in calligraphy, and the thought of her preparing tea like a housewife was a surprisingly pleasant mental picture._

"_I agree entirely, Soutaichou-sama. I believe Karin-san's presence will be a refreshing addition to the various groups and clubs in Seireitei." Byakuya added simply, his voice had an almost undetectable level of enthusiasm in it; a foreign occurrence when it came to Byakuya._

_The rest of the Taichou meeting went by virtually uneventful, with the remainding taichou's giving rather brief updates on their own squads. Unbeknownst to Byakuya, referring to his apprentice by her first name did not go unnoticed by a few of the Taichou's. As the meeting was called to a close, the three of them managed to fall behind the rest in exiting, and they walked down the path that would eventually take them to their respective divisions._

"_He never has been an especially talented liar has he?" Ukitake mused aloud to his companions as they walked._

"_That he has not, Juu-chan. But if he's willing to resort to deceit just to keep everyone from discovering his fondness for her, then that simply means that he values Karin-chan a lot more than we would have anticipated him to at this point" Shunsui pointed out to the ivory-haired man, adjusting his Sakkat to keep the sun out of his face._

"_Well it's still nice to see him happy once again. After all he's been through, that's the very least that he deserves, ne?" said Retsu, a warm smile adorning her face._

*OoO*OoO*

Outside of Byakuya's office, the squeak of a door, and the creak of the floor boards could be heard. Byakuya's Lieutenant Abarai Renji, lazily walked into the barracks building, knocking on the door of Byakuya's office.

"Ohayou Taichou, are you there?" said Renji

"Enter, Abarai-Fukutaichou"

Renji entered the main office room, and closed the door behind him. He looked slightly fatigued, whether from a hangover or from a prolonged lack of sleep Byakuya wasn't sure, although he suspected it was both. Renji stood in place for a moment in silence, as if looking for the words he wanted to say. After being sent a coercive glare from his Taichou, Renji gathered about his wits, and let the words flow,

"I know that you're busy and I don't really want to bother you, but I was thinking that since I haven't used my vacation leave yet, that I should use it before the end of the work year. I was hoping I could take all of my 6 weeks of leave in one go, throughout April next month, as well as the first two weeks of May, if that's alright with you of course."

Normally, Byakuya would have allowed Renji to take as much time as he pleased, seeing how he rarely ever took vacations, and was more than willing to assist Byakuya in the office the way a proper lieutenant should. However, as soon as Renji mentioned the time frame he wished to take leave, and the time of the year he wished to leave, Byakuya rather quickly connected the dots. However, rather than exposing him right then and there, Byakuya empathized with his discomfort, and decided to play along.

"Where do you intend to go Abarai, and why?" Byakuya asked casually as he kept his eyes on the paperwork he was filling out.

"I err... I was… I was thinking of going to Aizu-Wakamatsu in the Fukushima prefecture of the Human world for my vacation. Or the village of Kiiroizakura to the west of Rukongai. I heard they have really great Sakura viewings at that time of year, so I thought I'd go to see them"

A creative lie, but a flawed, transparent one. Byakuya was as mortal as everyone else, and he couldn't blame Renji for not wanting to be around at that particular time. However, no matter how much Byakuya pitied the young man in front of him, it would not be fair for him to do that to his sister. She would be heartbroken if Renji wasn't there for one of the most important days in her life. Furthermore, even though Byakuya pitied Renji, he wouldn't knowingly encourage Renji to exhibit cowardice and run away from everything that made him uncomfortable. Renji would simply have to wear his best face, and suck it up, because as far as Byakuya was concerned, he wasn't going to facilitate his weakness by give him an escape route.

"While those are certainly very good choices, I'm afraid I cannot give you the time off that you have asked for" Byakuya started.

"But why sir?" Renji said, almost yelling, desperation evident in his voice.

"Do you not recall Renji? Although a date is yet to be finalized, Rukia's wedding was expected to be held sometime during April or the beginning of May, for the specific reason that my sister wishes to say her vows whilst the cherry blossoms begin to fall in their full bloom. I assume that due to your close relationship with my sister and her… affianced, you are likely to play some instrumental role in the ceremony. It would disappoint my sister and the Ryoka boy a great deal if you were unable to attend" Byakuya said.

Though he tried not to show it, the mere mention of Rukia's marriage to Ichigo made Renji's heart drop. Byakuya could easily see the pain and hurt that tormented the scarlet haired man. Renji looked down loose strands of hair shielding his face, clenching his fists for a moment and then he relaxed them.

"Yeah, Taichou… How could I forget? Heh, Rukia and Ichigo's wedding. Great. I'd hate to miss that. I hope they pick a date soon… they… they deserve each other, they really do." Renji said, the bitterness in his voice, hardly hidden.

"Oy, Taichou. If there's a lot of paperwork to do today don't worry about it, I'll probably stay the night here in the office bunk so I'll finish any paperwork left back. You can even leave now if you want. You have to train with Karin today right? Get a head start why don't you. Tell her I said hi, and she still owes me 750 Kan for all that dango and takoyaki I've been buying for her whenever we go to Rukongai" He said, the last bit being the only humorous or sincere part of his speech. With that Renji nodded at Byakuya and made his way to the door. Before he left, however, Byakuya stopped him, departing a few simple words to his lieutenant.

"For the record Renji, I had always hoped that she would've chosen you"

"Thanks, Taichou" Renji said sincerely, before he left the room.

Byakuya resumed his writing, determined to finish at least part of his work. Even if Renji had offered to do the paperwork for him, his pride would not allow him to dump all of the work on his lieutenant. An hour or two more and he would be mostly done.

*OoO*OoO*

Karin was with Rukia in the human world, discussing her plans for Rukia's wedding to her brother. Normally Rukia would've had someone like Orihime whom she was closer to helping her plan, or even Tatsuki, but the both of them seemed to be M.I.A. Tatsuki's reason was perfectly logical; she was a Martial Arts prodigy, and she had mastered several different styles with a speed that baffled the best martial artists. Her prowess and exceptional beauty had earned her a great deal of attention around the world and as such, she was often on tour either competing, coaching, being interviewed, or doing the occasional photo shoot. However (even though Rukia seemed to be blissfully unaware of it), Orihime was a different situation. When Orihime had heard about Rukia and Ichigo's engagement, it was obvious that her world had fallen to pieces. She wasn't even aware of the fact that they had been seeing each other, since they kept it so well hidden.

The news hit her like a ton of bricks, and she was so out of it that she could hardly speak. She had flailed her arms defensively when Uryu had suggested that she looked as though she was on the verge of tears, and she voraciously maintained how happy she was for both Rukia and Ichigo. When the tears finally did come, she blamed it on her getting nostalgic about everything the whole gang had been through. And then she went on to say how happy she was that 'Kurosaki-kun, and Kuchiki-san' found happiness, and that she aspired to be like them. After it became apparent to everyone (with the exception of Rukia and Ichigo) that she couldn't keep pretending to be happy, Orihime excused herself from the celebration gathering at the Kurosaki house, all but breaking into a sprint once she got out the door. Karin, who had noticed the obvious distress the girl was in, sympathized with the Orihime, and had also slipped out, running behind the buxom blonde to catch up to her. The woman already had tears streaming down her face by the time Karin had caught up to her. Karin assured her that she would always be a special person in her life, and told her to contact her if she ever wanted to talk, because bottling it up was never a good idea. The woman had nodded and embraced Karin before the two went their separate ways.

Karin had not regretted what she had done, and in all honestly she was glad that Orihime was keeping her distance from the wedding preparations. It was not fair to herself, nor was it fair to Rukia especially if she was to drudge herself around bawling her eyes out because she wasn't the one who got the boy or the ring. The atmosphere was supposed to be a happy one, for Rukia's sake, and Orihime needed some time away from Rukia and Ichigo, in order to reflect and heal.

"… And I explained to your brother, that a Cherry Blossom theme makes the most sense, seeing as we're getting married on Kuchiki property, and our wedding will be held during Hanami, with the – Karin are you listening?" Rukia said after she noticed the spaced out expression on Karin's face.

"…hmm?" Karin said, snapping out of her daydream.

"I was saying that your brother and I need help choosing a proper theme for the wedding. I think a cherry blossom theme makes the most sense, but he doesn't like it because it reminds him too much of my brother. Your brother on the other hand would like the theme to have a water theme, but he wants red, black, and green as accent colours. That's too much or a shocking colour difference for my comfort, but he's been insistent on it. I want whites, pinks and browns as my accent colours. Which do you think is better?"

Karin furrowed her brows together as she thought of which combination might have been better. Fundamentally, Ichigo's accent colours sounded far worse as a combination. But on the other hand, knowing Rukia's 'artistic tastes' the shades of pink and brown she had in mind were probably neon-magenta and shit-stain, not to mention the designs she had in mind were probably catastrophic. While it was their wedding and they had the right to do whatever they wanted, if they wanted advice, Karin was going to give it to them, as barefaced as possible.

"Why don't you both just compromise? Since you're having the wedding in the Kuchiki garden, you'll be surrounded by pink cherry blossoms for the most part, with the odd colour cultivar variant. That being said, adding MORE pink to the theme for the wedding might overdo it. Instead use the red that he suggested, for something more bold, but don't over-accent with it. Perhaps mix in red flowers in the bouquets you'll have on the reception tables, or have the bride and bridesmaid bouquets tied with red lace. Dump his black, and keep your brown, but make sure it's a nice shade that compliments the scenery. Maybe get some table cloths for the reception tables that are white with fine intricate designs made with brown and white thread. As for green… that one could be mixed in with the bouquets, but I'm not really sure where to put that one. I guess the two of you can work it out, can't you?" Karin replied, scratching her head.

"That sounds wonderful Karin-san! Those accents sound perfect! I don't think I'll ever put green in my wedding dress so I think it's safe for me to choose my wedding dress material now! Which brings up another topic of discussion. Should my wedding dress be traditional or Western? I have observed in the human world that many women, especially the non-Japanese wear lovely dresses during their wedding, which I have grown quite fond of…"

The conversation was interrupted by Karin's cellphone buzzing. Karin looked at the caller ID and raised her eyebrow in surprise. It was Orihime. Not wanting Rukia to know that Orihime was contacting her, Karin excused herself under the pretence of it being a call from her soccer coach, and went outside.

"Hello?"

"Karin-chan! I'm not disturbing you am I?"

"No, not at all. I was just… discussing my moving plans with tousan" she lied, not having the heart to mention the wedding to Orihime.

"Oh ah… I can call back later then if you would like"

"No, no it's fine trust me. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well ah, I listened to what you said, about not being afraid to talk to someone about the way I feel, and after a couple of days by myself, I really feel like it's time for me to talk to someone and I was wondering if you had any time to come over"

"Of course I do. I'll be right over. Just let me tell… tousan, that I'm going out"

"Oh wonderful! Are you hungry? I'll bake something for you when you come by!"

"Uh, that's okay! You don't have to cook… I'll just get something on the way for us, that way we can really relax and talk to each other, with our attentions undivided." Karin said quickly. While she had heard that Orihime had started making more… _normal_ dishes for her guests (with the exception of Rangiku), Karin still didn't want to take any chances.

"Oh of course, that makes more sense. I'll see you soon then Karin-chan, bye"

"Alright, Bye"

Karin hung up her phone and stuffed it back into her jeans pocket before she stepped back inside. Once inside Karin grabbed her jacket and her bag with her wallet, before she jogged back upstairs intent on letting Rukia know that she would be going out for a while and promising to help her later on, however, as Karin put her hand out towards the doorknob, she heard a soft moan, and a low, unintelligible murmur that came from a sickeningly familiar voice. Resisting the urge to bring up her breakfast, Karin all but ran back downstairs and out the door. She didn't know that Ichigo was home. Karin was almost positive that everyone had left the house. There were no classes because of a national holiday and Yuzu had gone out with friends to the festival downtown. Isshin had been at the clinic all day, and Karin was sure that Ichigo had work or something akin to that to keep him busy. The fact that he was there, and they were doing _that_ while she was still there was disturbing, and Karin wasted no time in getting out and heading to Orihime's house.

Orihime still seemed unusually sad if you compared her to her usually bubbly self, but at least her face wasn't swollen from all the tears. Well, at least it wasn't swollen a lot. The two of them sat in the living area in front of the television, sipping on coffee and munching on biscuits and dango that Karin had picked up on her way to Orihime's apartment. A good 45 minutes had passed, and Karin was convinced the conversation hadn't progressed any.

"I know it's bad to pity yourself, but Karin, I feel so stupid. I loved your nii-san more than you can imagine, and I loved Rukia to. It feels like they both betrayed me, and I want to hate them so much, but I just can't bring myself to. I know now that I've never had a claim on Ichigo-kun's heart, and it just hurts a lot to watch the one guy I wanted slip right out of my grasps."

"Don't say stuff like that Orihime. You're young, and you're passionate. When you love, you love hard. There's nothing stupid about being in love. It's just unfortunate that the person you loved didn't love you back. But you're beautiful, and smart, and talented… any guy would be lucky to have you in his life"

"Karin-chan, I'm pretty sure no man in Karakura would look at me again. All these years Karin… eight long years spent pining after a guy who didn't notice me, and turning down every good guy who had ever cared for me!" Orihime replied, tears rolling down her face again.

"But what about Uryu, or even Keigo or anyone any of those guys?"

"After I turned Keigo down, he started seeing some girl named Sachiko, and they've been together for three years. I have no chances there. As for Uryu, he doesn't say anything to anyone about his dating life. But I know he is dating someone, and I have a very good guess as to who it is"

"who?" Karin questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Do you know Kurotsuchi's daughter?"

"Nemu-san!?"

"Yes, her. The last time we visited Soul Society he spoke to her almost exclusively, and I believe they remain in contact even though they do not see each other often. I might as well face it, I'm a lost cause with relationships…"

Unfortunately not as sympathetic as her sister, Karin was quick to lose her patience when it came to trying comfort people with Orihime's temperament. She felt bad for Orihime with being heartbroken and everything, but it was almost like Orihime was determined to prove Karin wrong, and validate the projections about herself that she had brought up. Getting up out of her seat Karin folded her arms across her chest, and started,

"Alright that's enough. I don't want to hear you beat up on yourself anymore. You need to get out of this place; being cooped up in your house for days on end is making you find reasons to criticize your person"

Karin paused for a moment appraising Orihime before she barked out a set of orders.

"Get up 'Hime-chan. I want you to take a shower, do something with your hair and put on some clothes, I'm taking you to the festival downtown. Some fresh air and good food will do you good" she said as she got up and began to clean up the things they had been using.

One hour of dressing and coercing later, Karin had managed to get Orihime out of her apartment, and on the road. The streets of downtown Karakura were bustling with life as street vendors, entertainers, musicians, tourists and locals flooded the area. Karin took Orihime through the streets, until they saw a large circle of people near the parkette. The two women pushed their way through the crowd until they were able to see what was going on in the midst of it. In the circle was a magician, and his assistant both dressed in western uniform, and performing a variety of tricks, to the awe and wonderment of the crowd.

The magician was a tall man, who appeared muscular yet slender in build. He had long cascading straight brown hair that framed angular facial features that combined to create a rather handsome face. His smile was like brilliant light and his aura exuded friendliness. As Karin watched him perform each one of his crafty tricks, she couldn't help but think that something was oddly familiar about him. _I've seen him somewhere before… _Karin thought as he watched the man and his assistant perform a trick with one of the audience members. The audience member was a young boy, with a set of curious eyes. The magician held a foreign coin up in front of the boy, and with a flick of his wrist and a snap of his fingers the coin disappeared, much to the amazement of the crowd. Karin however was not impressed. It was a simple trick, even for a magician… and it was of course, fake. Karin must've subconsciously muttered something out loud because it was all of a sudden the magician made eye contact with her. For that moment that their eyes locked onto one another Karin felt the presence of a rather dark reiatsu for a split millisecond before it disappeared as though it never even existed, and the next thing Karin knew she was choking. A strange, cold object was by in the back of her mouth, and it must have triggered her gag reflex because Karin had started choking as if she wanted to puke, on her hands and knees as her body buckled under the intensity of her coughs. When she did get the object out of her mouth and onto the floor, Karin was shocked to see that the object was the Magician's coin.

"Are you alright Karin-chan!?" Orihime asked worriedly, kneeling down and rubbing Karin's back comfortably.

"Ah, I'm fine it's just… How the hell did that end up in my mouth!?" Karin said, still shocked at what had happened.

"How did what get into your mouth?" Orihime said, confusedly

"That! That coin right… there?" Karin said pointing at the ground, only to see that the object she previously thought was there, was nowhere in sight.

"A coin Karin-chan? There is no coin anywhere around here" Orihime said looking around the area where they stood.

"But there was a coin! It was in my mouth and then I… never mind, I don't what came over me just now" she said, shaking her head. Perhaps she had imagined it all. Maybe her years of poor sleeping habits had finally caught up to her, and were causing her to hallucinate.

Karin shrugged and brought herself to her feet, wiping her mouth and composing herself. The magician seemed to have ceased his performance, leaving his assistant to take his place as he walked up to Karin, asking for an excuse to Orihime who was by Karin's side, to speak to Karin for a moment. Despite Karin's protest that she didn't need to leave, Orihime left to give them some space. The magician stared at Karin with the widest smile, and a look in his eyes that was almost unreadable, and then he embraced her, squeezing Karin as tightly as possible and fisting her hair.

"I've missed you Karin-chan"

Karin struggled in his grasp and pushed him away from her, confused. Who the hell was this guy, and why was he hugging her as if he'd known her all her life? Karin was an extremely particular girl when it came to people invading her personal space. No matter how familiar he had appeared to her during his show, making physical contact with her was absolutely unacceptable in her books. She took a good look at him, appraising every inch of his face and conjuring up a very unpleasant choice of words for the man, when finally, the familiarity of the man finally registered.

"Taka-kun?!" Karin said, gawking at the man.

He smiled again. "I was getting worried that you didn't recognize me" he said, resting his hand on her shoulder, and squeezing it lightly.

An unprecedented calm came over Karin, as if the anger mechanism within her was disabled, and the very thought of remaining angry with the magician was absurd. Yutaka. It really was him. Karin blinked twice and rubbed her eyes just to make sure it was true. Her best friend from childhood was there, standing before her, smiling at her with that same innocent smile, and eyes filled with a world of brightness and warmth. She was so enamored by his presence, that her episode with his coin, all but faded into the back of her mind as a feeling of intoxicating euphoria that was almost unnatural, overwhelmed her senses and filled her with warmth. Karin re-embraced Yutaka, with a strength that surprised even him.

"I've missed you too, Yutaka"

*OoO*OoO*

Byakuya stepped out of the senkaimon and landed gracefully in the middle of the Shoten. Looking around he mentally remarked at how empty it was for a candy shop. Spreading out his senses Byakuya searched for familiar reiatsu in the Shoten, and the only match he could find ended up being the one he was the least fond of. Two slender hands found their on top his face and over his eyes, and an irritatingly familiar figure pressed itself up against Byakuya's back.

"Byakuya-bo, pleasure seeing you here" purred a familiar voice.

Irritated by not noticing how fast she had closed the distance between them, Byakuya mentally berated himself, before shunpoing out of Yoruichi's grasp.

"It would be highly appreciated if you would refrain from making unnecessary physical contact with me" Byakuya all but spat at the purple haired woman

"You didn't even bring flowers and you're already making demands? I know you were taught better than that Byakuya-bo" Yoruichi said, feigning reprimand

Byakuya was beginning to become extremely annoyed with the purple haired heiress, and was at the point where he was finding it all but too difficult to contain his emotions. Yoruichi must have noticed Byakuya's more rigid stance, and his fisted hands, because she decided not to take the joke further. Instead she rested her hand on his shoulder and looked at him quizzically before she spoke.

"Oh Byakuya-bo, you get worked up far too easily. I've barely said a thing and you're already prepared to take my head off. Relax, I bet you must've had quite a day today if you've decided to show up in the human world. Did the Soutaichou have a message for us?" She said as let her hand slide off his shoulder, and sauntered over to the table where she took a seat. Byakuya followed her lead, sitting opposite from Yoruichi, clasping his hands together in front of him, and closing his eyes.

"The Soutaichou has no messages for you Shihoin, and even if he had, I would not dream of degenerating my character to that of a mere errands boy for the sake of delivering messages to the likes of you. I am a nobleman, not a Jigokuchou. My purpose for being here is of a more self-obligatory one. Today has been previously appointed as a training day for Karin-san and I. As you are aware, due to the pre-existing commitments that Karin-san partakes in, I am obligated to make trips to the human world in order to work around the rigidity of her schedule" said Byakuya.

Yoruichi arched an eyebrow at the handsome Captain questioningly. "Well, you're very early Byakuya, even for training. Were you that excited to see Karin-chan again?" she said, smirking mischievously.

Byakuya rubbed his temples, ignoring the suggestive look that Yoruichi was giving him.

"How long do you estimate it will take for her to arrive?" Byakuya asked, disregarding Yoruichi's comment.

"I don't even think Karin-chan will be here today, to be quite honest" Yoruichi replied running a hand through her vibrant-hued hair.

"How can that be? We had previously arranged for today to be a training day for Karin in the world of the living. Due to the fact that she had obligations in the world of the living during this week, it was arranged that I would come over to this world to assist her with her training" Byakuya said, struggling to keep his voice from raising. Perhaps Yoruichi was pulling his tail again, because it made absolutely no sense at all that Karin wouldn't be coming on a day that she had requested his presence.

"Didn't Karin-chan, or Rukia tell you? Today is a national holiday Byakuya-bo. Karin-chan is probably out with her nakama, enjoying the festivities. Why, I was on my way to catch up with Kisuke and Tessai, but when I sensed your reiatsu, I just couldn't give up the chance of seeing you get all riled up" Yoruichi replied to the man, blinking her eyes playfully at him.

"National holiday?"

"Yes Byakuya-bo, a national holiday. It's similar to the moon festivals back in seireitei. The holiday today is Wakamono Matsuri; the youth celebration festival." Yoruichi replied, talking to the Kuchiki noble as if he were a child, much to his chagrin.

A national holiday? The thought was quite disheartening to the Kuchiki noble. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was really looking forward to a day with Karin, where he and her could enjoy themselves sparring, and later on relax into simply enjoying one another's company (or at least he hoped she enjoyed his company as he did hers), and discuss literature, or perhaps play a few games of Mahjong or Shogi before he left for Seireitei. The prospect of heading back to his office after he had worked so hard to finish all or most of his paperwork, did not seem to make him feel any better. However, Byakuya knew he would never hear the end of it from the Shihoin princess if she picked up even slightly how much he had actually wanted to see Karin at that moment. He had to choose his words extremely carefully.

"Retrieve her for me" He demanded, more than asked.

"Cat's don't fetch Byakuya-boyo"

"…"

"What? You can sense reiatsu can't you? Go look for her yourself. I want to enjoy the festivities" Said Yoruichi as she skipped off in the direction of the room that she and Kisuke shared. After a moment she reappeared with what appeared to be a body in her hand.

"Oh, and before you go, put this on will you? It's bad enough that Karin-chan has a stalker, don't make it worse by being a stalker that only she can see. The last thing that girl needs is to labeled a loonie" Yoruichi said, throwing the Gigai in front of Byakuya.

"Hn." Byakuya said, ignoring the antagonistic tone in Yoruichi's voice and positioning himself in front of the gigai, before laying back into it. It took a second for the Gigai to adjust to the massiveness of Byakuya's reiatsu, but after it had adjusted, Byakuya was able to move the Gigai freely, although his reflexes were significantly slower than his reflexes in his true form. Byakuya rose with purpose in his Gigai, striding towards what he presumed to be the exit of the shoten, only to be stopped by Yoruichi's mirth-laced voice.

"A stalker without clothes is even worse than an invisible stalker, Byakuya-boyo"

Shit.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter, hopefully I'll get the next one up really soon. I'm in the process of writing two newer FF's right now, and if things go well, i'll have the first chapter of one of them up before the end of the week. In the coming weeks Work and lectures will monopolize most of my time, but I am determined to keep finding time to write these stories for you guys.**

**Who remembers Yutaka? The little boy from a few chapters back that Karin played with in that dream of her past? Well he's back, and now he's a 'magician'. We'll get to know him a lot better over the next few chapters, so keep your eyes peeled for that**

**If anyone has any questions/concerns about the chapter that pertains to character's actions in this chapter, please PM me about it, or review with your account, that way I can actually answer your questions.**

**As always, I love you guys for supporting me and this story! Reviews would be Really appreciated!**


	10. Chapter 10: Conflict of Interests

**A/N: I'm BACK!**

**No I'm not dead, I didn't run away and join the circus, I didn't elope, and I didn't win the lottery (unfortunately). So much has been going on in my life these past couple of months that unfortunately I had to put this lovely FF on hold while I sorted through some things. I know 7 months of absence is unforgivable, but please try and find it in your hearts to have mercy on my soul, as I give you this lengthy chapter as a peace offering.**

**I Do Not Own Bleach,**

* * *

_Important Terms:_

_Konbanwa = _good afternoon (very formal)

After the initial introduction's, a good 5 minutes of embracing, and strings of 'I miss you's and 'what have you been up to's, Yutaka had decided he would take a break from street entertaining, and offered to treat Karin and Orihime out to some coffee. Yutaka chose a rather expensive looking café that was occupied predominantly with foreigners and businessmen, and had requested an outdoor seating placement on the café's patio deck.

"Are you sure it's alright if we take you from your show Yamazuki-kun?" Orihime questioned concernedly, as she sat down at the café table that she, Yutaka and Karin occupied.

"Don't worry yourself Inoue-san. I wasn't even scheduled to perform until much later. Me and my assistant Har- Hana, sorry, are actually slated to perform tonight, just before the fireworks. I was only street performing today because I didn't have much to do, and I've really missed the streets of Karakura" he replied, squeezing Orihime's shoulder in assurance, a bright smile ever-present on his face.

"Well, if you're sure…" she said putting her finger to her lip as she contemplated what to say next.

"So Karin-chan, how do you and Yamazuki-kun know each other?" Orihime asked, curiously.

"We're childhood friends" Karin said, smiling nostalgically. "We've known each other since as long as I can remember. Yutaka, Me, Yuzu, Ichi-nii and sometimes Tatsuki-chan would play together all the time. We'd even sleep over on the weekends, and spend family holidays together. All of us"

"You know Tatsuki-chan and Ichigo-kun as well?" Orihime gawked in surprise.

"Haha, yes, I do. They are both quite dear to me. Judging by how beautiful you are, you must be Ichi-nii's girlfriend. Or his wife, if he's as smart as I think he is" He said, winking cheekily.

Orihime turned a furious shade of red at the comment, spluttering her reply.

"a-ah no… Ano… I-I'm n-not in a relationship with I-chigo-kun. R-r-r-Rukia-san is engaged to him"

"Rukia-san?" Yutaka said, looking to Karin for some sort of explanation.

"Rukia is, as Orihime-chan said, my brother's fiancé. You wouldn't know her though. She came around way after you left. Speaking of which 'Taka… why did you leave?" Karin said, an almost tangible sense of hurt present in her voice.

"It's a very, very long story Karin-chan. Perhaps later on, if you'd let me meet up with you again, we could talk about all of that… and hopefully more?" he said, optimism in his eyes, as he reached out for her hands and squeezed them lightly.

"Of course, I would love it if we could get some time to just talk. Do you have a number that I might be able to reach you at?"

After Karin and Yutaka exchanged numbers, the pair and Orihime paid their tab, and walked down the avenue by the café, in the direction of the center of where the festivities would take place. As they continued down the street, a light breeze began to blow, and trailing it was a familiar reiatsu that instantly made Karin stiffen in concern and Orihime furrow her brows in confoundedness, while Yutaka seemed more or less oblivious to the spiritual pressure that just barely laced the air. Karin was sure it was his…that familiar, overpowering reiatsu that reminded her of the springtime, only strained and suppressed. As if the small amount of reiatsu that did leak from its source was being forced out purposefully, to make his presence known. He was just east of them, that much she could tell, and judging by the strength of the reiatsu (although infinitely weaker than it would've been in its free flowing form) that grew stronger and stronger as they walked towards its source. Feeling a sense of urgency to get to him Karin began to advance towards the unmistakeable reiatsu with Orihime and Yutaka in tow, when a loud hiss escaped Yutaka's lips, his hand instantly grasping his shoulder and his face twisted in obvious pain.

"Is something wrong" said a concerned Orihime, reaching out a hand to touch Yutaka's affected shoulder.

"Don't touch it!" Yutaka yelled, slapping Orihime's hands away and almost sneering at her. When both Karin and Orihime's bewildered expressions registered with Yutaka, he immediately morphed his countenance into a softer expression, before apologetically explaining himself, his words rushed and forced.

"Gomennasai Inoue-san, but touching it will only make it worse. I… I need to get out of here" he said before standing straight and taking off without giving anyone a chance to say their farewells.

"I wonder what could be wrong with Yamazuki-kun?" Orihime wondered aloud.

Karin watched as Yutaka's form slipped into the mass of the crowd, and let out a slightly depressed sigh as she watched him go. Maybe it was for the best however, she thought. It would be less troublesome if he left, instead of staying for her to introduce the man she was chasing after to Yutaka. Although, it slightly bothered Karin when she internally acknowledged that her concern over what Byakuya would have thought about Yutaka was her main reason for seeing Yutaka's sudden departure as a blessing. Shaking her head, Karin kept walking, holding onto Orihime's hand to avoid being separated by the bustling crowd.

"Can you sense it too Orihime-chan?" Karin asked as the two of them continued to advance towards the supressed reiatsu

"Hai, Karin-chan, I felt it since we were back with Yamazuki-kun near down the street. But what would Kuchiki-sama be doing in the living world in the middle of the day?"

"Well, that's what I want to find out" Karin said, reaching out her reiatsu to more accurately pinpoint Byakuya's location. Their reiatsu's brushed against one another for a second, and a visible string of reiatsu appeared, acting like a line-trail towards the man in question. Karin took off towards the east, shuffling through the crowd across the streets. Karin's pace gradually quickened into a run, as she felt the pressure of Byakuya's reiatsu fluctuate slightly. Karin turned down another busy street as fast as she could, barely acknowledging the figures she negotiated through in her blind pursuit, and completely forgetting about Orihime who's hand she had let go of in the midst of breaking out into a sprint. Karin was so concentrated on following the string of reiatsu, that she almost didn't realize his proximity to her until she ran right into a very solid chest.

Still unused to being in an artificial body, the force of the contact that the onyx-haired woman had made with him, proved too much for him to support. Instinctively wrapping his arm around the woman, Byakuya (albeit grudgingly) allowed gravity to take both him, and Karin to the ground. For the onlookers, the fall looked amorously graceful and almost practiced; the contact that Byakuya's physical body made with the ground hardly even hinted towards the notion that gravity was in control. Byakuya had been completely unaware of Karin's presence until she hit him. His senses felt extremely supressed in the uncomfortable clamor of organic flesh. He tried to splay his reiatsu across the area, in search of Karin's but it required a great deal of force to propel his usually free flowing reiatsu. And even with his reiatsu finally let loose, because of the interference the Gigai caused, it proved quite a challenge to even detect other's reiatsu with his own. It was obvious to the noble that his Gigai was either incomplete or defective. Byakuya's only option then was to simply pour as much reiatsu as he could (without attracting hollow masses) across the region, and hope that Karin would sense it and pursue him. As Byakuya devoted part of his mind to forcing out his reiatsu, Byakuya began to scrutinize the numerous imperfections of the Gigai Yoruichi had handed to him. His movements felt rigid, and his sensory system felt incredibly weakened. It was difficult for him to allow his reiatsu to permeate the Gigai, and it was almost as if the Gigai didn't allow him to sense that of others. Even flexing his hand felt rather sloth-like in comparison to the speed he would have possessed if it he were not confined to the accursed piece of equipment. If this was the normal level of mobility for a human body, Byakuya pitied mortals greatly.

Having recovered from the surprise of being more or less tackled to the ground by a much smaller body, Byakuya fully registered what had happened, and immediately looked down at the porcelain hands clutching his shirt. Just as Byakuya was about to demand that the cretin that had pushed him to the floor remove themselves from his person, the woman let out a groan that sounded unmistakeably familiar. Quickly adjusting himself, Byakuya lifted himself off of the ground, simultaneously pulling Karin up with him. Byakuya gave Karin a once over, looking for any visible bruises or cuts that she may or may not have acquired as a result of the fall, and inadvertently appreciating the way her jeans held on to the contours of her shapely legs. Once he was absolutely sure that no harm had been done to Karin, he raised his gaze back up to Karin's face, taking note of the light blush that adorned her cheeks.

"Byakuya, what're you doing here?" Karin asked, trying to fight down the blush that was rapidly staining her cheeks. No matter how many times over the past couple of months he had looked at her, the way his smoldering grey hues had possessively analyzed any every pore of her body never ceased to cause her cheeks to heat up, and shiver to travel down her spine.

"Do you not recall?" said Byakuya and then he continued, "It had been previously arranged between the two of us that I would provide you with further training in the human world due to your commitments preventing you travelling to Seireitei" Byakuya finished, slightly offended that Karin had forgotten about their training date, but making sure to feign indifference to the fact, lest she figure out how much he had been looking forward to it.

"How could I forget! It had completely slipped my mind" Karin exclaimed, slapping herself on the forehead.

"I had fully intended on meeting up with you at Urahara's but I forgot that our training date was on the same day as Wakamono Matsuri. To be honest, I didn't even plan on coming to the festival, but Orihime-chan called and… she thought it was a good idea for me to get some fresh air" Karin continued, making sure to exclude her real reason for going out to the festival. Even though she didn't think Byakuya would relay any details to his sister, Karin thought it was best if fewer people knew about how much Rukia and ichigo's engagement had affected Orihime. As if on cue, Orihime turned the corner and bolted in the direction of Karin and Byakuya, red faced and panting slightly. When she was finally within reasonable distance of Karin she came to a stop, hands resting on her knees to catch her breath. Once her breathing had evened Orihime opened her mouth to chastise Karin for running away so abruptly, but instantly shut it and spluttered upon noticing whose presence Karin was in.

"Kkk-konbanwa Kuchiki-sama!" she said bowing, her face turning an even deeper shade of red at her own embarrassment for stuttering.

"Hn." Byakuya grunted in acknowledgement.

Karin rolled her eyes at Byakuya's rather unfriendly way of greeting people, and turned to face her strawberry blonde companion.

"Apparently, Byakuya over here was the source of those bursts of reiatsu that were echoing across town" Karin explained.

A look of realization crept onto Orihime's face in response to Karin's words. "Ahh, that's why the reiatsu seemed so familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew I had felt it before. Have you come to spend time with Rukia-san and… Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-sama?" Orihime said the lack of genuineness in the smile she had forced onto her face at the mention of Rukia and Ichigo almost palpable. Byakuya raised his eyebrow, but did not comment at the almost dispassion of the strawberry blonde.

"As pleasant as spending time with my sister and her … _simplistic_ choice in a suitor may have been, I did not come to the living realm to fraternize. I have responsibilities to attend to that unfortunately require my commute here" Byakuya said rather matter-of-factly.

Karin ignored Byakuya snide comment about her brother, and filled in the blonde in on Byakuya's actual purpose for being there.

"I was supposed to train with Byakuya today, but I had been so caught up with the festivities that I had completely forgotten about our training date." She said shrugging, and then she continued,

"I guess it's only right that I train with him now that he's here. Is it alright with you if I head back to Urahara's with Byakuya? You can come along too if you'd like" Karin offered.

The slight disappointment in losing her escape from her depression was evident, but with a fake smile and a wave Orihime played it off as soundly as she could.

"I-it's perfectly fine Karin-chan, I need to get going anyway. Thank you so much for spending time with me today." She said.

Karin nodded, and gave the other girl a quick embrace. "I will call you later alright?"

"… Thank you Karin-chan" Orihime said softly, giving Karin an extra squeeze before letting go and waving Karin and Byakuya off.

After leaving Orihime , Byakuya and Karin fell into a comfortable silence as they walked through the streets back to Urahara's shop.

"You didn't have to come out all this way too look for me you know" said Karin as she stared at the sidewalk in front of her eyes running over the various cracks in the weather-worn concrete.

Byakuya looked at Karin out of the corner of his eye, holding his gaze for a moment before he spoke,

"Are you implying that you did not wish to see me today, Karin-san?" Byakuya said evenly

At this, Karin flushed slightly and tried to explain herself properly, "I didn't mean it like that! I really look forward to spending time with you – for training and stuff," she said, adding in the last part quickly. It was true that she enjoyed their training sessions, but much to her horror she found that being in his general presence was really what made her day.

"Ah, training of course. I suppose we should relinquish participating in any of our usual leisurely activities, since they obviously seem be the cause of more distress than gratification for you" he said, with slight mirth in his voice, and a gentle smirk adorning his features

"No, I didn`t mean – shutup!" she said, nudging byakuya lightly, "You always do that to me"

"And yet, you fall victim to my jesting every single time. A shinigami who falls for the same trick repeatedly, is hardly a shinigami Karin-san" Byakuya replied

"Whatever Byakuya, we'll see if I'm hardly a Shinigami after Kiyogetsu rips your shihakusho to shreds" Karin countered grinning.

Few were ever familiar with, or even exposed to Byakuya's humorous side; in fact, most people didn't even think it existed. The 6th division captain was far from the most sociable type and someone would even say he was downright hostile toward any attempts at making conversation. But for Karin it was far different; she had managed to burrow under a few of the pompous layers that comprised of his exterior façade and had managed to discover the banter-laden sense of humour that Byakuya harbored. Karin was rather surprised the first time she genuinely saw Byakuya chuckle or smirk humorously at something she said or did, but his responses were nonetheless welcome. After recovering from the shock of learning that Byakuya indeed had a sense of _relatable_ humor, Karin had not long after decided that the man had an award winning smile. His smiles were so rare and so memorable that she often caught herself daydreaming of one of those moments where he did smile, much to her frustration as she always ended up daydreaming when she was doing something that required her undivided attention. Their banter had originally started out as genuine insults being thrown at each other, but somewhere along the line they had managed to discover that they both had a proclivity for morbid, sarcastic, and antagonistic humour. Unwittingly through their bickering and quarrelling they had found another common ground, and more than even either of them had realized the more common ground that they found, the more connected to one another they became. Their initial meeting and disdain for one another had slowly morphed into a rather warm companionship that had reached the bordering regions of transcendence into intimacy, but had been rather delayed in making that final step.

The candy shops occupants had completely vacated, including Yoruichi, Byakuya noted with relief. He knew the woman loved seeing him squirm and the last thing he was looking forward to was being teased about his growing… _fondness_, for his raven haired protégé when the lady in question was in his midst. Karin used the key Kisuke had given her to enter the shop and the duo wasted no time in getting to the underground training area that was under the shop.

Removing their human and gigai forms and leaving them in the shop, Byakuya and Karin headed out into the training area, using shunpo to cover more area, faster. They sped across the vast expanse until Byakuya decided to come to a stop by a region that was mostly flatland.

"As shinigami, we are taught to use our surroundings to our advantage when fighting hollows. This is a highly valuable survival skill, that has proven its worth a thousand times over for any seasoned shinigami. However for many shinigami, they become reliant on structures both natural and man-made to help defend themselves, or even to aid in delivering killing blows. Shinigami with such a handicap become utterly useless in situations where the landscape that they are fighting in has little or no cover area or major obtrusion" said Byakuya as he began walking forward, away from Karin.

"I will not have you disgrace yourself or my mentoring abilities by becoming one of those Shinigami. For this exercise you and I will spar in a wide open space, so that you will be forced to use nothing but your zanpakutou to defend yourself in battle" He finished, pulling senbonzakura from its sheath and turning around to face his opponent.

"Hit me with your best shot, Taichou" Karin said cheekily, pulling out kiyogetsu and setting herself in battle stance.

Byakuya began his attack first, using shunpo to close the distance between the two of them rapidly. He raised his blade over Karin's head and pulled his sword down, but his attack was blocked by Karin as she held Kiyogetsu above her head to block. Moving quickly Karin focused reiatsu into her legs and used them to kick at Byakuya, propelling herself into a back flip and exiting the sword-to-sword deadlock they had found themselves in. Byakuya reacted swiftly, and shunpoed behind the spot he predicted Karin would land at. As expected Karin landed right in front of him and Byakuya slashed horizontally at Karin, missing her by only a fraction of an inch as she shunpoed away from his strike. The fight soon turned into more of an evasive dance as Karin found herself trying to avoid Byakuya's blows. Karin began to realize it was much harder than she had previously anticipated fighting in the open would be. As impressive as her kenjutsu was, when it came to Byakuya she knew she'd only get some real damage done with her shikai activated. Byakuya must have read her mind, because he suddenly distanced himself from her and held Senbonzakura out in front of him.

"Chire, Senbonzakura" Byakuya uttered aloud, the blades of his zanpakutou breaking up into thousands of razor sharp cherry blossom petals.

Karin nodded, and a smirk adorned her features. Now she felt like they were going somewhere; using her shikai was her preferred method of combat when zanpakutou were involved because her zanpakutou allowed for more freedom of movement, and if there was one thing Karin loved, it was freedom of movement. Karin raised her blade above her head revelling in her own reiatsu, and called upon her blade to release her shikai.

"Hikaru to Oreru, Kiyogetsu!"

Karin's blade glowed brilliant white and shattered, flaming white moonflower petals igniting from the shards. Using the hilt of her zanpakutou Karin guided the petals to surround her in a semi defensive position. Byakuya noted the defensive position that she had used to guard herself from attacks, and felt his chest swell with a small amount of pride. When Karin had first used her shikai, she had been somewhat awkward and unaware of the way she used Kiyogetsu to attack and offend. She used to stream Kiyogetsu into a sort of singularly directed blast that either served the purpose of blocking attacks, or giving one head on blow to her enemies. After the first couple of sparring sessions, Byakuya wasted no time in showing Karin how vulnerable her style made her, and quickly began the process of correcting Karin's form to incorporate both self-preservative techniques and offensive techniques at the same time. As of that very moment Byakuya could tell that she had improved greatly in terms of her control over her shikai petals, but his scrutinizing eyes could still detect rather apparent lacks in precision, but that would only get better with time.

Karin leaped forward at Byakuya, attempting to use Hakuda and her shikai at the same time. Karin directed a small portion of moonflower petals to envelop her wrists and ankles, and sent a cross-chop in Byakuya's direction. Byakuya smoothly evaded Karin's attacks by shifting senbonzakura's petals to form a wall that blocked Karin's attempts. Karin did not relent however and kept sending attacks Byakuya's way, shunpoing in all directions to find an opening to launch her attack in. Karin had only recently discovered that she could armor herself with the moonflower petals of Kiyogetsu, and had taken an instant liking to this method of battle. Each time Byakuya had watched Karin fight him hand to hand whilst using her Shikai, he couldn't help but think how delighted SoiFon would have been if Karin had been her protégé. Her style was rather unusual amongst most shinigami, almost Yoruichi-esque, but it was nonetheless useful and Byakuya had to admit that Karin had almost landed quite a few nasty blows on him using this technique. Almost.

The two shinigami went at it for hours, the whirring sound of the razor sharp petals clashing together echoed through the training ground as their sparring intensified. When using Hakuda to fight had begun to take a toll on Karin's body, both through physical exhaustion and Kiyogetsu's petals actually starting to burn her, she opted for using a less hands on approach to fighting and returned to her defensive stance, commandeering her blades to fly after Byakuya whilst simultaneously trying to defend herself.

When their training Karin exhaustedly dropped to the floor, and it took a great amount steel will for Byakuya to act as though their sparring had not winded him.

"Your performance was satisfactory Karin-san. Your ability to utilize your own zanpakutou as a means of defense was effective, however, I must emphasize – what has happened to your arms?" Byakuya said, after noticing the painful looking red marks on Karin's wrists and by her ankles.

"It's nothing Byakuya. It just happens when Kiyogetsu's petals stay around my ankles and wrists for too long. The burns won't scar, as long as I get into the springs and heal up. Honestly, I'm fine" she replied to him, forcing herself up off of the floor and attempting to shunpo to the area of the springs only to wince at the pain in her ankles and buckle underneath the pressure of her own body weight.

Byakuya almost instantaneously shot his arms out to grab Karin, supporting her slender frame by holding her up against him.

"Karin-san?" said Byakuya, his concern over her well-being slightly palpable in his voice, much to his chagrin. Karin stared up at Byakuya, and stubbornly tried to stand up and support herself.

"I said I'm fine Byakuya. I just tripped over… the dirt." She said trying to limp away from him only to stumble and be forced to grab hold of Byakuya to support herself.

It was obvious that Karin was not going to make it very far on her legs, without adversely agitating her wrists and ankles, and Byakuya would not allow himself to stare at Karin as she only caused herself more harm. His concern lay only in the fact that any injury to her would be a hindrance to their training, or so he tried to convince himself. Letting out an inaudible sigh, Byakuya positioned his hands in one swift motion; he swept Karin off the floor and into his arms, bridal style.

Karin motioned to begin protesting Byakuya's actions but one look in his face told her that she would get nowhere in her protest, and with an indignant huff she resigned herself to being carried as Byakuya leapt off into shunpo. Karin's huff inadvertently caused her to lean into Byakuya, and Byakuya stiffened at the contact. With Karin's side pressing into him firmly as a result of the g-force acting on their bodies, he became painfully aware of the soft yet firm composition of Karin's body. His mind drifted back to the time when he had first had an opportunity to feel the silkiness of the skin on her legs, but Byakuya quickly rebuked himself of such thoughts, lest they cause his reiatsu to fluctuate strangely or his anatomy to respond inappropriately. Besides, such thought were perverse and improper; she was his protégé for Kami sake.

Byakuya landed, carefully adjusting his grip on Karin as he strode towards one of the larger springs.

"I think I can walk from here" She said, unsuccessfully trying to remove herself his grip.

"hn."

"Is that a yes?" she said, eyebrows raised in slight irritation

"…"

Byakuya brought Karin all the way to the edge of the springs, and gently laid her down.

"Undress and bathe. I will return shortly" He said, turning his back to her and walking away.

Karin didn't even get an opportunity to reply to him before he disappeared in a flash of shunpo, leaving her alone with her thoughts, and her terribly aching limbs.

"_Guess I overdid it this time, ne Kiyogetsu?"_

"_Practice makes perfect Karin-sama. The power in my blade is one so destructive that even its own master is not entirely immune to the intensity of its heat" Kiyogetsu echoed in her mind_

"_But, I've heard Yamamoto-Soutaichou has a fire based zanpakutou with the most deadly destructive force in all of Seireitei, and he's allegedly engulfed himself in the flames without feeling any adverse side-affects from doing so. And Toshiro-kun has never complained about feeling frostbite after using Hyourinmaru, so why am I the odd one out?" Karin said confusedly_

_Kiyogetsu was silent in Karin's head for a long moment. Just when Karin was about to reiterate her question just in case Kiyogetsu hadn't heard her, the moonflower wielder spoke up,_

"_In the case of Hyourinmaru and Hitsugaya-sama, the nature of their power is made to incorporate Hitsugaya-sama's body, thus the appearance of claw-like appendages in his bankai state, as well as wings and a dragon's tail; in essence, Hitsugaya-sama being able to manifest characteristics of his zanpakutou on his body as an aid in battle was probably something that was reflexive, whereas your fighting technique has been acquired. In the case of the Soutaichou, he has lived for many years; a hundred or more of your lifetimes. Thus, he has had eons to train and harness his power, and has learned to refine his control over Ryuujin Jakka`s powers at even the most miniscule levels. Because of this, he has probably learned the art of controlling the way his zanpakutou`s fire affects him. Once one has become truly attuned to their zanpakutou they develop an unprecedented level of control, however such occurrences are rare, even with years of practice"_

"_Do you think I could ever learn to do that, Kiyogetsu?"_

"_It depends on whether or not you want to learn"_ Kiyogetsu said, her voice fading as her presence slipped into the back

Knowing that that answer was all she would get from Kiyogetsu, Karin brought herself back to the present, and began undressing herself. The healing water of the hot spring instantly began bubbling around Karin's arms and legs, and almost immediately Karin began to notice that some of her pain was subsiding. The soothing feeling of the healing waters enveloping her skin put Karin into a trance-like state, and before she could even think about anything else, she drifted off to sleep.

When Byakuya had finally returned to the spring he was pleased to see the bundled up shihakusho on the other side of the spring. As much as he knew it would probably be the best option (seeing that Karin's wrists and ankles were scorched), he doubted that he had the capacity to remain composed if he were to assist her with undressing and entering the pool. No amount of reasoning could deter him from facing the disturbing conclusion that he had indeed evaded a woman out of the fear that he would be unable to resist reacting to her nudity. A few months ago, he would have never even thought twice about assisting a 'protégé' undress so that they could receive first aid; it was a necessary measure, and there was hardly anything sexual about it. Until now, such issues never really bothered him in his adulthood; he had inevitably seen his fair share of nude women during his apprenticeship in the art of healing Kidou, and many of them were what would be considered very physically attractive women. Yet, he was always able to see them merely as unwell individuals, who required medical attention; nothing more, and nothing less. Byakuya was at a loss for trying to discern why all of a sudden Byakuya was having issues with differentiating his professionalism from his infatuation, solely when it came to Karin. He had never even felt that way when he had first met Hisana… and that bothered him immensely. The disgust he felt for himself at the idea that he could have developed an inexplicably deep sense of _want_ that he had never felt for anyone else, not even his own wife. A correction of self was in order, he thought as we strode idly around the springs. Karin didn't really matter to him emotionally, he tried to assure himself. His infatuation with her was fleeting at best, a result of kindred spirit-ship being misconstrued as romantic potential; besides, he doubted she would feel the same way about him even if circumstance was different. Karin was a beautiful young girl with a teeming social life who was obviously infatuated with Hitsugaya-Taichou; he had no place in her life, romantically speaking at least. Hisana was the only one for him, and he would wait for her eternally until his soul could be reunited with her be in this realm, or in the realm of the living. His resolve was ironclad and unwavering… or at least it was that way right up until he finally laid his eyes on Karin's sleeping form in the hot spring. There was a slow in the flow of time, and all of Byakuya's previous thoughts seemingly dissipated at the sight of her. Her hair was let down out of its usual high ponytail, the long raven tendrils were pasted to the side of her face and covering her partially exposed bosom. Her face was calm and peaceful, a mountain of strength of character, teeming underneath a countenance that spoke of so much vulnerability and innocence. The simplicity of her beauty was captivatingly regal, and as much as he wanted to abhor himself for his weakness, Byakuya couldn't help but stare.

"You. Little. **Pervert**."

If Byakuya was any less of a man he would have jumped out of his skin out of embarrassment at being caught staring, and at being pulled so harshly out of his musings. However, he would rather commit sepukku in front of his entire household staff then give that purple haired she-devil the satisfaction of knowing that she got a jolt out of him.

"I cease to see the perversion of my actions, Yoruichi-san" Byakuya said coldly.

Yoruichi had a sickeningly mischievous grin on her face as she stared down Byakuya with her playful golden orbs. "You know what; you're right Byakuya-bo. A far more correct term would be **hypocrite**, or **STALKER**. You know it's one thing for you to watch her sleep every night when she's at your estate, but watching her sleep while she's naked?! And then you have the nerve to chastise me for unintentionally catching you naked a couple of times. Oh Byakuya-bo your grandfather would be so disappointed in you." said Yoruichi, mock whispering dramatically and feigning astonishment, much to Byakuya's chagrin.

Despite his seemingly unaffected countenance, Byakuya almost shat himself mentally as Yoruichi exposed a guilty pleasure of his that he was almost entirely positive that no-one was even aware of. Whenever he was unable sleep at night he had admittedly gone into Karin's room and watched her sleep, but only because the sight of her sleeping was incomprehensibly therapeutic to him on nights where even the pleasant conversations that they had was not enough to get him in the right frame of mind for a proper nights rest. How Yoruichi managed to go unnoticed stalking him while he… err… _observed_, Karin sleep was beyond him. However, being the prideful man that he was as well as being conscious of Karin's presence not too far out of ear shot, Byakuya blatantly denied Yoruichi's accusations.

"Defamation of character is a new low, even for you Yoruichi"

"Oh REALLY? I WONDER WHAT KARIN WOULD SA-"

"Control your tone Yoruichi" Byakuya commanded

"But if it isn't true why would it matter _Kuya-chan_ " Yoruichi purred.

"I do not wish to disturb Karin's rest. Such disturbance may interfere with her body's recovery rate"

"oh, so she's '_karin'_ now?" said Yoruichi, emphasizing Byakuya's lack of honorific use.

"Whatever you're thinking, you're mistaken." Byakuya shot back coldly, whilst silently berating himself for his slip up.

"Kami. You really do have the hots for this girl Byakuya-bo!" Yoruichi exclaimed

"Your tone Yoruichi" Byakuya almost hissed. The urge to rub his hands on his temples was becoming more and more enticing by the second. Yoruichi seemed to have a penchant for bringing up subjects he didn't want to think about, at the worst possible time.

"Yare Yare" Yoruichi said, waving her hand at him dismissively. "Let's just take this conversation somewhere else" Yoruichi said, grabbing Byakuya by the risk and shunpoing rapidly before he could even protest. Once they were a good couple of meters away from the hot spring, Yoruichi turned around to look Byakuya in the eye, with no playfulness detectable in her gesticulations.

"You should tell her how you feel Byakuya. Girls like her are hard to find, and they get snatched up pretty quickly" Yoruichi said, sounding more serious.

"Karin and I have nothing in common Yoruichi. I assure you that there exists no potential for intimate development between the two of us"

"And why is that, Byakuya?"

There was no point in trying to deny it with Yoruichi, Byakuya realized. She obviously knew far more than he would have liked her too, and she was more unlikely to relent with her antics if he continued to deny that he had feelings for the raven haired Kurosaki. Answering honestly, Byakuya tried to articulate one of the primary reasons for his apprehension when it came to Karin.

"Hisana. I could not betray my loyalty to her after al- "

"Shut the hell up Byakuya. Do you think that Hisana would want you to be lonely for the rest of your life? I may not have known her that well but I know you, and I know you would've never married a woman that selfish" said Yoruichi, interrupting Byakuya's excuse.

Byakuya was silent. There was some merit to Yoruichi's words, and the fact that he had to admit that bothered him. Still though, after investing so much of his life and love into honouring Hisana's memory, the idea of acting on these feelings that he had begun to develop for Karin felt almost unnatural to him. Conflicted, Byakuya tried to find another way to rationalize his reasons for being reluctant to pursue Karin. After mulling through the possible variables that would constitute a viable excuse, Byakuya finally spoke

"Even if I were to pursue any romance with Karin based off of an alleged 'amorousness' towards her, I highly doubt that she would be receptive of such advances. As apparent during many of the training sessions that we have had, Karin has displayed several lapses in concentration which I am led to believe are the result of fantasizing, presumably of an individual of the opposite sex, who has captured her fancy"

"So this is what this is really about; a fear of rejection. I suppose a half of century out of the dating game would make that a concern for even the most confident man." Yoruichi said, a slight smirk making its way onto her lips. "It doesn't matter if right now she might have eyes for someone else. If you really care about Karin – which I know you do so don't try and convince me that you don't – Then turn her gaze away from the bastard, and turn them on you"

"The elders will never approve of my advances" Byakuya replied, finding another reason to try and rationalize why a relationship between him and Karin would be unethical at best.

"If they approved of Rukia and Ichigo then I hardly see how they would not approve of you courting Karin-chan. Those greedy bastards would probably jump at the idea as they did with Ichigo's advances, because of the high esteem saving the realms from destruction has put the Kurosaki family name in. Having a family of powerful heroes linked to your own does wonders for the noble image"

"It will be frowned upon" He tried to argue.

"The only thing that should be frowned upon is the fact that you haven't been laid in almost 50 years" Yoruichi shot back evenly

Byakuya's eye threatened to twitch in irritation as Yoruichi brought up the subject of his sex life, or lack thereof. The smirk on Yoruichi's lips grew into a broad smile, as she cackled heartily at the stiff, aggravated body language of the man in front of her. He was selling himself short of happiness and he knew it; if he needed some snide remarks thrown his way to make him realize it, she'd be more than happy to dish it out. Besides, he looked absolutely priceless when he started to get flustered.

"My personal life is no business of yours, especially not my sexual endeavors"

"It really does become my business when the word amongst new Shinigami is that coming under my discipleship turns skilled shinigami into prudish drones with sociopathic tendencies" Said Yoruichi, referring to newer Shinigami's opinions of both Byakuya and Soifon.

"Hn."

"Don't start going all monotone response with me. You care for that girl and no amount of denial or rationalization is going to change that fact, or make it any less natural for you to pursue her. It's not a crime or a sin to want the attentions of someone else in your life; it's been 50 years" Yoruichi reasoned with Byakuya, crossing her arms impatiently as she waited for the sense to finally kick into gear. Byakuya was a hard person to convince, and it was hard to tell whether or not reasoning worked with him, as he never wanted to give anyone an indication of whether or not he was listening.

"hn."

"You don't have to follow my advice Byakuya, but you should. This could very well be your last chance at happiness and you're depriving yourself of that. Just don't become even more of a sociopathic prick when some wiser, more ambitious man comes along and snatches her right out of your grasps" Yoruichi finished, shaking her head admonishingly before shunpoing away, presumably to the exit of the training ground.

Byakuya stood by himself mulling over his and Yoruichi's exchange. An uncomfortable sense of confliction was enveloping him, choking the passageways of clarity of thought, and putting Byakuya in a position that he loathed with no small measure; uncertainty in his own actions. In his heart of hearts he knew that Yoruichi was right in all that she had said to him, but even 50 years seemed too soon to simply move forward with his life, and forget his first love. And would his efforts really be worth it in the end? There was no guarantee that he would even be able to so much as get Karin's attentions, especially since her relationship with Histugaya-Taichou seemed to run quite deeply. And if she were to be unreceptive of his advances there could be an unprecedented number of negative repercussions. His advances could potentially cause her to no longer wish to receive instruction from him, which would then of course lead to questioning from the Soutaichou, which ultimately could land him in a magnanimous amount of misfortune; anything from a loss of integrity amongst his peers, to dismissal, or worse yet, the disgrace of his entire clan. The sheer amount of variables both positive and negative were overwhelming for Byakuya, and after such a relatively pleasant day the last thing he wanted to contemplate such matters. Permitting himself a moment of submission, Byakuya rubbed his temples earnestly and shoved his thoughts into the back of his mind for reassessment at a later date. Right now his only responsibility was to complete his instruction session with Karin; not to psychoanalyze the plausibility of a relationship with her. With his mind temporarily made up, Byakuya headed back to the hot spring.

* * *

**A/N: Well that's it for now, Hope you liked it!**

**Sorry for any spelling errors/grammatical errors, but this one is fresh off the press. I saw all the inboxes and emails I got from fans asking if I was going to continue with this story, and I felt so bad for neglecting it that I spent a good couple of hours furiously typing so that I could get this out today. This chapter is far from my favourite, but it was necessary in order for the events in the next couple of chapters to make sense. It's pretty choppy, I know, but I couldn't bare to let another day go by without giving all of you something to read. I promise that I won't go so long without updating again, and I will eventually publish some of the new things I have been working on as well.**

**P.S. Thankyou all for reviewing, this story now has over 100 reviews!**

**Hugs & Kisses until Next time, and feel free to inbox me with any questions you might have**

**~Truthfulpen**


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